Food Allergies On Off Court

Summary

Lianne Mandelbaum — licensed physical therapist, food allergy advocate with approximately 22,000 Facebook followers, author for Allergic Living magazine, and mother of Josh (16-year-old New Jersey tennis player with a severe peanut allergy) — joins Lisa Stone to discuss the practical realities of managing food allergies in junior tennis competition. Mandelbaum’s advocacy began when Josh was eight and a United Airlines manager told her, regarding her son’s peanut allergy during an airport incident: “Well, you think he’s going to die? Just don’t get on the plane.” Her subsequent campaign led to a DOT ruling that any passenger with a food allergy has the right to pre-board any US-bound flight to clean their area. Josh experienced a mid-match anaphylactic reaction at a national tennis tournament in Rochester after cross-contamination at Dairy Queen — which Mandelbaum frames as a learning experience that produced better protocols. The episode provides a practical playbook for tennis families managing food allergies through tournament travel.

Guest Background

Lianne Mandelbaum is a licensed physical therapist (currently not in practice) based in New Jersey. Her three children include a daughter who played D1 softball at Brown and then coached at Columbia, a son who played three varsity sports at Princeton and now plays intramurals, and Josh — the youngest — a 16-year-old competitive tennis player who has a severe peanut allergy (diagnosed at age two after a reaction that caused anaphylaxis at first lip contact). Mandelbaum transformed her personal advocacy into a platform: a website collecting food allergy travel stories, a Facebook community of 22,000 followers, writing for Allergic Living magazine, and legal action that produced a DOT ruling requiring pre-boarding rights for air travelers with food allergies. Josh’s allergist is Dr. Hugh Sampson, a world-renowned allergy specialist at a New York hospital who told Mandelbaum he has had professional tennis players thrown off flights for disclosing food allergies.

Key Findings

1. The DOT Pre-Boarding Rule: A Policy Victory

Mandelbaum’s advocacy produced a concrete regulatory outcome: following a complaint filed with Attorney Mary Vargas and Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) against American Airlines (which had a written policy prohibiting food-allergic passengers from pre-boarding), the DOT issued a ruling. Any passenger with a food allergy now has the legal right to pre-board any flight in the United States or any flight arriving in the United States to clean their seating area. This ruling directly protects junior tennis players who travel by air for tournaments and have food allergies.

2. The Rochester Reaction: A Case Study in Cross-Contamination

Josh’s first national tennis tournament resulted in a mid-match anaphylactic reaction after his father took him to Dairy Queen between matches. The allergy was disclosed; cross-contamination still occurred. Josh returned to court, began coughing, took a knee after 15 minutes, and said “I can’t breathe” — requiring an ER visit. Mandelbaum’s lesson framework from the incident: (1) no new foods at tournaments, no new restaurants; (2) chain restaurants with high peanut contamination risk (Dairy Queen) are categorically off-limits on competition days regardless of disclosure; (3) always travel with non-perishable safe alternatives.

3. The “No New Foods at Tournaments” Rule

The primary tournament protocol Mandelbaum advocates: on tournament days, eat only from pre-vetted safe sources. Her go-to: Jersey Mike’s, which has served Josh safely at tournaments across the country (checking the specific location each time). Backup: a “gold bag” of non-perishable safe foods — microwavable mac and cheese, safe energy bars, safe snacks — that travels to every tournament to cover the case where the safe restaurant is closed (a July 4th weekend in Kentucky example: Jersey Mike’s closed, family ate from the gold bag). The principle: never allow the absence of a known-safe option to force an emergency dietary decision in an unfamiliar location.

4. Two Epinephrine Auto-Injectors at All Times, On the Body

Mandelbaum’s non-negotiable protocol: Josh carries at least two epinephrine auto-injectors at all times, on his body (not in a bag across the court). She uses the Auvi-Q device (a square auto-injector that talks the user through the injection steps, smaller than EpiPen brand) in a magnetic Running Buddy case clipped under shorts or in a waist pack. The reasoning: if the device isn’t on the player’s body, it can’t save them. Early treatment is the most important determinant of outcomes in anaphylaxis.

5. Graduated Independence as the Development Framework

Mandelbaum describes a deliberate developmental approach to Josh’s allergy management: in restaurants, she required him to order and communicate his allergy himself from a young age, correcting him when needed, reducing correction as he improved, eventually stepping back entirely. The same graduated approach applied to travel: first solo tournament travel with his coach (not parents) required a practice session where Coach Les Smith and Josh’s likely teammates practiced administering epinephrine on grapefruits (whose skin approximates human skin). Josh’s self-advocacy is now the primary protection mechanism, not parental oversight.

6. Team Advocacy: Coach and Teammates as First Responders

Mandelbaum describes coach Coach Les Smith at Newark Academy assembling Josh’s likely roommates and interested teammates before a school trip and training them to administer epinephrine — with Josh present and leading the session. The team’s snack policy: while Mandelbaum never formally requested allergen-free team snacks, the team voluntarily eliminated peanut products from group snacks to protect Josh. Her framing: having a coach and teammates who value the player’s life over food convenience is the ideal outcome, achievable through calm communication and sharing vetted written resources rather than confrontational demands.

7. Prevalence: 1 in 13 Children in Every Classroom

Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) data: food allergies affect approximately 1 in 13 children in every classroom. The prevalence is rising. Common allergens beyond peanuts: milk allergy (frequently mischaracterized as lactose intolerance), tree nuts (almonds, cashews — distinct from peanuts but equally dangerous for some individuals), and any food can cause anaphylaxis. 48% of adults who have food allergies discovered them in adulthood — meaning a player with no childhood history can develop a dangerous allergy at any life stage.

Actionable Advice for Families

• Establish and enforce a “no new foods at tournaments” rule — only eat from pre-vetted safe sources during tournament weekends; bring a “gold bag” of non-perishable safe alternatives as backup
• Carry at least two epinephrine auto-injectors on the player’s body at all times during practice and competition, not in a bag or in the car
• Train the player’s coach and closest teammates to administer epinephrine — practice on grapefruit skin as a substitute for human skin; this converts a medical emergency into a team response
• Use graduated independence to build the player’s self-advocacy skills: require them to order in restaurants themselves, communicate their allergy at team meals, and eventually manage tournament travel independently
• When approaching coaches and teams about allergy accommodation, share written third-party materials (magazine articles, medical research) rather than personal demands — the information lands differently coming from vetted sources

INTENNSE Relevance

• Player welfare infrastructure: INTENNSE’s professional player welfare obligations include food allergy management; a league that provides catering and travel logistics for players must have documented protocols for players with known allergies — Mandelbaum’s framework (pre-vetted meals, portable epinephrine, trained staff) is the baseline standard
• Team travel protocols: INTENNSE’s travel coordination for away matches should include food safety protocols that accommodate known player allergies — this is both a duty of care and a player welfare differentiator relative to unstructured touring circuits where players manage these risks alone
• Coach and staff training: INTENNSE’s coaching staff and training staff should be trained in epinephrine administration — a league where a coach cannot respond to a player’s anaphylaxis on the bench is an unsafe professional environment
• Broadcast moment: A player or coach visible wearing an auto-injector device is a natural broadcast story touchpoint — humanizing athletes through the medical realities of their lives builds the kind of audience connection that differentiates INTENNSE’s broadcast from traditional sports production
• 1 in 13 prevalence: The 1-in-13 prevalence means that across INTENNSE’s 10-team roster structures, multiple players will likely have food allergies; standardizing protocols at league level rather than leaving accommodation to individual teams is the professionally responsible approach

Notable Quotes

“He said to my eight-year-old son, ‘Well, you think he’s going to die? Just don’t get on the plane.’ And Josh said, ‘I’m only eight, I’ve got my whole life ahead of me. Please don’t put me on the plane, Mom. I really don’t want to die.’”

“We have a rule — if you’re playing in a tournament, any tournament, no new foods, no new places. It’s not worth it. Risk versus reward.”

“A confrontation where you’re like, ‘My child’s going to die, my child’s going to die!’ only wants to get them to throw you off the plane. Being calm — I have found that makes all the difference.”

“You always have to train the people around you and make sure you have team support. If you don’t have a coach that supports you, especially when traveling, they can put you in harm’s way.”

“48% of adults that have a food allergy discovered them later in life. It’s not just kids.”