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It's so important, I believe, that the strength coach and the head coach are directly in line with one another in terms of what's important, what's the message we're delivering, and Rick and I are. We're totally synchronized in that and so he's huge. He's critical to all we do.
In general, the strength and conditioning coach has been named "perhaps the most important person on a school's coaching roster besides the head coach" because of NCAA rules that prohibit head and position coaches from holding offseason practices, but permit up to eight hours of strength and conditioning activities per week during those times. [26] This in turn means the strength and conditioning coach essentially is responsible for the team during the offseason. [27] Michael Baumann, a sportswriter for The Ringer, characterized Court's behavior as "bullying" and pointed out there are no protections afforded to college football players who were at the mercy of their coaches' authority: "[C]ollege football coaches are afforded broad power over their players. They frequently determine the class schedule and course of study for the players in their charge. They control how much an individual student-athlete plays, and under what circumstances. Those decisions could have million-dollar consequences on a player’s NFL career." [28]
Many of the individuals interviewed described the coaches carrying out questionable behaviors such as:
In the wake of these allegations, the University accepted responsibility for McNair's death and placed several athletic staffers, including Court, on administrative leave. [29] President Loh and director of athletics Damon Evans met privately with McNair's parents in the morning of August 14 to apologize personally before making a public admission of responsibility and follow-up actions later that afternoon. [30]
The university also commissioned an independent panel to investigate the toxic culture allegations; [29] [31] the panel initially was made up of four members appointed by Loh: two retired judges, a former federal prosecutor, and an unfilled position for a former football coach and athletic administrator. [32] After the board of regents took over responsibility for both investigations on August 17, [20] it was modified to eight members: five were appointed by the board of regents, and the remaining three had been originally appointed to the four-member panel by Loh (Legg, Scheeler, and Williams). [32] [33]
The panel consisted of: [34] : 18–20
In a letter sent to parents of Maryland players before the ESPN report's publication, Durkin stated that he was aware of the investigation and that he is fully cooperating with it. [13] [35] Court resigned from his position on August 13, 2018, shortly after being suspended. [15] [36]
On August 11, 2018, Durkin was also placed on administrative leave and Matt Canada was named interim head coach until the culture investigation was completed. Punishments would be determined upon the investigation's conclusion. [16] Members of the Champions Club, an athletic booster organization at Maryland, expressed their support for Durkin in a letter sent to the board of regents later in August. [37] Members of the Champions Club stated there was no evidence of a toxic culture and that Durkin could be "welcomed back by the fans, by the players, by the donors with open arms." [38] Champions Club member Rick Jacklitsch faulted McNair for improper hydration: "As much as we hate to say this, Jordan didn't do what Jordan was supposed to do. A trainer like Wes Robinson thinks a kid's properly hydrated and runs a drill set up for kids that are properly hydrated, and when the kid didn't drink the gallon [of water] he knew he had to drink, that's going to send the wrong signal to the person running the drill." [38] When the football team traveled to play Michigan, Jacklitsch was removed from the team's flight after his remarks were made public. [39] [40]
The report leaked ahead of its public release; according to a copy obtained by the Associated Press in late October, [17] it faulted the Athletics Department for not adequately supporting Durkin, [34] : 5–7 blamed Court for unacceptably abusive behavior, [34] : 7–8 and concluded that "Maryland's football culture was not toxic" by definition. [34] : 12 Despite a claimed open door policy, players and assistants "feared retribution and dismissal of their concerns because of the closeness of Mr. Durkin and Mr. Court", [34] : 12–13 and "players rarely felt comfortable sharing concerns with [Durkin]". [34] : 13 The conclusion that the culture was "not toxic" was ridiculed by sports writers Claire McNear (for The Ringer), [41] Tom Ley (for Deadspin ), [42] Richard Johnson (for SB Nation ), [43] and Jeff Seidel (for Forbes ). [44]
The board of regents of the University System of Maryland, acting on the conclusions of the independent culture investigation, recommended the reinstatement of Coach Durkin on October 30, 2018, over the objections of university president Wallace Loh. [45] [46] Although Loh had recommended Durkin to be dismissed, the Board urged Loh to retain Durkin and Evans. [46] [47] Loh fired Durkin one day later, on October 31. [18] The Board also recommended reinstating the two trainers who had been suspended in August. [48] However, after Durkin's firing, those two trainers, Wes Robinson and Steve Nordwall, also were subsequently terminated on November 6. [49]
President Loh announced his resignation, effective June 2019, on October 30, the same day he accepted the recommendations of the board. [33] [47] The chair of the board of regents, James T. Brady, announced his immediate resignation on November 1, following the outcry that ensued after Durkin was reinstated. [50] In a statement released on November 7, the new chair of the board, Linda R. Gooden, apologized "to the McNair family, the University of Maryland, College Park community, and to the citizens of our state" because the Board had "lost sight of its responsibility to the university system" and that "everyone on the board now understands that the board's personnel recommendations were wrong." [49] [51]
In January 2021, University of Maryland has agreed on a $3.5 million settlement with his parents, Marty McNair and Tonya Wilson. [52]
McNair's family started the Jordan McNair Foundation in July 2018. [9] On May 31, 2019, the Jordan McNair Foundation held the first annual Jordan McNair Golf Classic tournament at Turf Valley Resort in Howard County, Maryland. Events included an auction to raise funds for the Foundation, whose mission is to raise awareness of heat-related illnesses. [53]
In August 2018, before the start of the 2018 season, the University of Maryland football team announced they have temporarily retired McNair's jersey number 79 until 2020. In addition, the Terrapins will wear No. 79 as a helmet patch, and will seal McNair's locker with glass through 2020. [14] McDonogh School retired McNair's jersey number 70 in September. [1]
On June 13, 2019, the one-year anniversary of McNair's death, the National Center for Children and Families arranged Jordan McNair Field Day at J.C. Nalle Elementary School in Washington, D.C. Dozens of Maryland football players attended the athletic event while wearing white t-shirts bearing McNair's jersey number 79. [54] Later that day, the remainder of the team joined the Jordan McNair Foundation at a health and wellness clinic at McDonogh School. [55]
Todd Darren McNair is an American football coach and former player who was most recently the running backs coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the running backs coach at the University of Southern California from 2004 to 2010, until the NCAA issued a one-year show-cause penalty against him as part of sanctions related to the ineligibility of one of his former players, Reggie Bush. McNair had a long-running lawsuit pending against the NCAA for libel, slander, breach of contract and four other alleged offenses. The lawsuit finally was settled through mediation after ten years.
The Maryland Terrapins football team represents the University of Maryland, College Park in the sport of American football. The Terrapins compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and the Big Ten Conference. The Terrapins joined the Big Ten Conference on July 1, 2014, following 62 years in the Atlantic Coast Conference as a founding member. Mike Locksley is the head coach of the Terrapins.
The Diamondback is an independent student newspaper associated with the University of Maryland, College Park. It began in 1910 as The Triangle and became known as The Diamondback in 1921. The Diamondback was initially published as a daily print newspaper on weekdays until becoming a weekly online journal in 2013. It is published by Maryland Media, Inc., a non-profit organization. The newspaper receives no university funding and derives its revenue from advertising.
Rick Smith is an American football executive. He served as the general manager of the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL) from 2006 to 2017. Smith also served as the team's executive vice president of football operations from 2012 to 2017.
In the University of Southern California athletics scandal, the University of Southern California (USC) was investigated and punished for NCAA rules violations in the Trojan football, men's basketball and women's tennis programs.
Wallace Dao-kui Loh is an American university administrator. He was the president of the University of Maryland, College Park, from 2010 until 2020.
Daniel John Durkin is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Auburn Tigers. He was formerly the head coach for the University of Maryland. Durkin began serving as the head coach of the University of Maryland football team in 2015. Following the practice-related death of player Jordan McNair, Durkin was placed on leave in August 2018. Matt Canada was named acting head coach until further notice.
Matthew Canada is an American football coach who most recently served as the offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Maryland, LSU, Pittsburgh, NC State, Wisconsin, Northern Illinois, Butler, and Indiana.
The Baylor University sexual assault scandal concerned numerous sexual and non-sexual assaults by Baylor University students, mostly players on the school's football team, and efforts by school officials to conceal them, from about 2012 to 2016.
The 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 149th season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The regular season began on August 25, 2018, and ended on December 8, 2018. The postseason began on December 15, and aside from any all-star games that were scheduled, concluded on January 7, 2019, with the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The Clemson Tigers won the title game over the Alabama Crimson Tide, the school's third national title and second in three years, and also becoming the first team since the 1897 Penn Quakers to have a perfect 15-0 season.
The 2018 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tigers played their home games at Jordan–Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama and competed in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by sixth-year head coach Gus Malzahn. The Tigers finished the season 8–5, 3–5 in SEC play to finish 5th in the West Division. They were invited to the Music City Bowl, where they defeated Purdue.
The 2018 Big Ten conference football season was the 123rd season of college football play for the Big Ten Conference and was part of the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season.
The 2018 Maryland Terrapins football team represented the University of Maryland during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Terrapins played their home games at Maryland Stadium in College Park, Maryland and competed in the East Division of the Big Ten Conference.
The 2018 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented Ohio State University during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Buckeyes played their home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. This was the Buckeyes' 129th overall season and 106th as a member of the Big Ten Conference. They were led by head coach Urban Meyer in his seventh and final season at Ohio State.
The Maryland Terrapins football team represents the University of Maryland, College Park in the sport of American football. The Terrapins compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and the Big Ten Conference. The Terrapins joined the Big Ten Conference on July 1, 2014, following 62 years in the Atlantic Coast Conference as a founding member. The Terrapins are currently coached by Mike Locksley. Since 1950, the Terrapins have played their home games at Maryland Stadium in College Park, Maryland with occasional home games from time to time in Baltimore, making them one of two FBS football teams in the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area and the closest Football Bowl Subdivision team to Washington, D.C. The team's official colors of red, white, black, and gold have been in use in some combination since the 1920s and are taken from Maryland's state flag, and the Terrapins nickname — often abbreviated as "Terps" — was adopted in 1933 after a turtle species native to the state.
Jalen Rasheed Smith is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Stix", he played college basketball for the Maryland Terrapins.
The 2019 Big Ten conference football season was the 124th season of college football play for the Big Ten Conference and was part of the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season.
Chris Partridge is an American football coach and former player who is currently the outside linebackers coach for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He also was the Paramus Catholic High School head coach and worked as an assistant coach for Michigan Wolverines football from 2016 to 2020 and the defensive coordinator for Ole Miss from 2020 to 2022.
The murder of Richard Collins III occurred on May 20, 2017, while Collins and friends waited for an Uber to arrive around 3 AM near Montgomery Hall on the University of Maryland, College Park campus. Twenty-two year old University of Maryland senior Sean Urbanski emerged from a wooded area, screamed at the group, and proceeded to stab Collins, who later died of his wounds.
In the end, the regents presented Loh with an ultimatum of sorts: If he wanted to finish the school year and reach the end of his contract, he had to keep Durkin.
"It was made clear that if he wanted to remain in his position, he had no option," said a person close to the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. "He ultimately felt it would've been tremendously disruptive to the entire campus if he was to be terminated simply because he wouldn't put the coach back on the field."
So Loh, 73, capitulated but then announced his intention to retire at the end of June.