He Has A Healthy Obsession With Sports.

John DiFiori

UCLA Head Team Physician

“Sometimes you have to be willing to be unpopular,” says Dr. John DiFiori, the head physician for UCLA Athletics. “Our first priority is health and safety.” Athletes in many sports and leagues have benefited from that mission. DiFiori combined two passions — competitive sports and medicine — into one illustrious career. He has honed his healing arts during a two-decade career at UCLA as a sports doctor and family practitioner, and in 2013 was named team physician for UCLA Intercollegiate Athletics. DiFiori also was a physician for the U.S. Olympic Training Center, USA Basketball and several professional leagues, including the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League. A former president of the American Society for Sports Medicine, DiFiori’s busy Bruin days include working with the UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Program to research and develop new ways to prevent traumatic brain injury in athletes and others.