New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
Hard questions remain after death at Maryland
St. Joseph of Trumbull quarterback David Summers remains committed to play at the University of Maryland.
He is only one of thousands of high school recruits from around the nation bound for college in 2019 and each one is a precious jewel. A Connecticut kid, Summers is our jewel.
As Jordan McNair’s father and mother sat there Thursday, fighting tears, maintaining dignity in the face of their unspeakable loss, no parent of a prospective college athlete could watch their ESPN interview without their own hearts breaking. Without asking the same question over and over.
We entrust our child, our precious jewel, to a coach, to a school, and Jordan McNair dies like this of heat stroke?
When Maryland president Wallace Loh said Tuesday the school takes “legal and moral responsibility” for the circumstances that led to the June death of the 19-year-old offensive lineman, there was some understandable praise. After all, schools like Michigan State, Baylor, Ohio State, Louisville and Penn State in recent years have engaged in varying degrees of cover-up in the face of considerable scandal.
It was encouraging to see someone in college athletics take accountability. Yet at the same time there remain unanswered questions. Why did it take two months and an exhaustive ESPN investigation led by Heather Dinich to compel Maryland to act?
In putting head coach DJ Durkin on administrative leave, Loh said a preliminary investigation pointed to mistakes made by the athletic training staff —not the coaching staff — at a May 29 work-
out at which McNair collapsed in the heat. Why did they fail to act appropriately? The McNair family’s precious jewel would still be alive if they had.
And is that nearly the full story? An ESPN report had pointed to a toxic environment where players were verbally abused, humiliated and intimidated. There were stories of an overweight lineman forced to eat candy bars in front of his teammates as they worked out, and players belittled if they didn’t complete a weightlifting set or a workout drill.
Strength and conditioning coach Rick Court, the first hire by Durkin after he replaced Randy Edsall, resigned with a $315,000 buyout. Court — heralded by Durkin as his right-hand man in establishing a culture physically and mentally tougher than the one of his predecessor — was painted by the ESPN report as especially domineering. Does this play into McNair’s death?
ESPN quoted two former players and a number of anonymous players and staffers in its report. Others — as recently as Saturday, at a meeting between parents and school officials — have come out in support of Durkin.
What we do know for sure is Jordan McNair is dead and he should not be.
Here in Connecticut, we can’t help but wonder what Edsall, who has since returned to UConn as head coach, really thinks about what he left behind. And what the parents of David Summers think looking ahead.
Talking to reporters the other day, it was clear Edsall didn’t want to get into the specifics. He also is a parent of a son who played college football.
“I knew the young man, Jordan McNair, I offered him (a scholarship),” Edsall said. “I feel very sad for him and his family. That’s the only thing I have to say.”
So far Parker Moorer, an offensive tackle from North Carolina, is the only one to decommit from Maryland. In our conversation Friday, Summers said he remains firm on Maryland. Matt Canada, Summers’ primary recruiter, has been elevated from offensive coordinator/ quarterbacks coach to interim head coach. Canada is the one who reportedly reached out to Summers after he left LSU, watched Summers throw in the spring and offered him a scholarship that he accepted May 21.
“David remains committed to Maryland and we support his commitment,” Summers’ mom, Jessica, said via text. “I believe the university will complete a thorough review and will implement changes as needed.”
The Summers family and all the Maryland families obviously deserve that much. One could argue that Maryland will become one of the safest places in the nation to play in 2019, yet at the same time there is a good chance Durkin will not be brought back, and changes mean uncertainty.
Summers, who chose Maryland over Pittsburgh and Rutgers, is currently ranked the No. 32 pro-style quarterback in the 2019 class by 247Sports. He had a terrific 2017 season, throwing for 49 touchdowns and only five interceptions. He threw five TDs in the Class S state title victory over Ansonia.
St. Joseph figures to be a state power again. Summers is going to light up our autumn.
These are heady quarterbacking times around the state. Xavier’s Will Levis has gone to Penn State. Avon Old Farms’ Taisun Phommachanh of Bridgeport is going to Clemson in 2019. New Canaan’s Drew Pyne will head to Notre Dame in 2020.
These are our kids. As Connecticut sports fans, we wish them success at college.
As parents, we wish them good health and happiness.
“As parents of children who play multiple sports, we recognize there are risks and we try to manage them as they come,” Jessica Summers said.
On Friday, the Maryland Board of Regents voted to control both the external investigation into McNair’s death (by Walters Inc.) and the one into the program’s culture (a four-person commission convened by Loh). Loh acknowledged that McNair’s temperature and other vital signs were not checked and that he hadn’t been placed in a cooling bath, basic procedures for possible heat stroke.
McNair had been running sprints during a workout session. According to multiple reports, McNair family attorney Billy Murphy said Jordan suffered a seizure around 5 p.m. The 911 call didn’t go out until 5:58 p.m. Maryland disputed the timeline and that McNair had a seizure.
What isn’t disputed is that McNair arrived at the hospital with a temperature of 106.
Heat stroke is preventable. Symptoms are treatable. That either head trainer Wes Robinson or director of athletic training Steve
Nordwall didn’t recognize McNair’s problems and take timely measures is frightening. Both were put on administrative leave. Robinson had worked under previous coaches and, according to ESPN sources, his demeanor changed at College Park the past few years with Durkin and Court.
“The heat makes cowards out of us all,” Durkin told the Carroll County Times, pledging to make workouts as hard as possible during his first summer at Maryland in 2016.
Today, those words stand as chilling.
According to a New York Times piece, 31 NCAA players have died since 2000 during offseason or preseason workouts from heat stroke, cardiac issues and asthma. And since 2012, there have been eight known severe cases of heat stroke with three deaths. Even after the death of the Vikings’ Korey Stringer in 2001, clearly much more diligence is required.
We owe that to Jordan McNair.
We owe it to each one of our precious gems.
We demand it for our Connecticut athletes.