The main purpose of this paper is to consider the extent to which college coaches subscribe to a set of beliefs in the culture of sport concerning risk, pain, and injury. These beliefs were derived from a prior content analysis of Sports Illustrated. A secondary purpose of this paper is to consider whether gender makes a difference in how coaches think about risk, pain, and injury. The data are from a survey of coaches at a medium-size (11,500-student) comprehensive university in the southeastern United States. The results showed ambivalence among coaches in their views of risk, pain, and injury, which suggested the existence of a risk–pain–injury paradox.