Parents of McNair: Terps’ Durkin ‘needs to go’

2:02 pm | August 16, 2018 | Go to Source | Author:

5:31 PM ET

NEW YORK — Marty McNair, the father of late Maryland offensive lineman Jordan McNair, told ESPN on Thursday that football coach DJ Durkin should be fired because he didn’t deliver on his recruiting promise — simply taking care of Jordan.

“When I think of DJ Durkin, all I remember is him sitting at our kitchen table and assuring me that he would take care of my son,” Marty McNair said, “and he did anything other than that.

“I think he should be relieved of his job. I don’t think that he should be allowed to coach anyone else’s child in an environment like this. My child died. That’s something we’ll never get back. That’s something that will never heal. Yeah, he needs to go.”

In an interview with ESPN at the Algonquin Hotel, Marty McNair and Jordan’s mother, Tonya Wilson, openly grieved the June 13 death of their son as they talked about his final practice on May 29, which ultimately led to heatstroke.

Speaking publicly Thursday for the first time, Jordan’s parents shared the whirlwind of emotions they’ve gone through, as well as details about a lack of communication from university officials following their son’s death.

According to Wilson, she first learned her son was hospitalized on May 29 from a University of Maryland campus police officer, who called her around 8 p.m. A 911 call was placed just before 6 p.m., according to records obtained by ESPN.

“We got the call — I think it was around 8 p.m. — and we were told that we need to get to Washington Adventist [Hospital],” Wilson said. “The caller never said what happened to Jordan over the phone, but when we got to the hospital they said he suffered a seizure.”

Wilson said Durkin and his wife called her following Jordan’s funeral to offer their condolences. “But any other officials … nothing,” she said.

Marty McNair agreed.

“No,” he said. “There was none. It was very disheartening. But I didn’t hear anything from anyone.”

University president Wallace Loh and athletic director Damon Evans visited with McNair and Wilson in Baltimore on Tuesday morning. It wasn’t until a news conference later that day that Wilson learned the Maryland athletic training staff didn’t even take her son’s temperature.

Her jaw literally dropped.

“That was my reaction: ‘Really?'” Wilson said. “I mean, I’m not in the medical field, and … first thing you should do, take his vitals. Check his temperature. I didn’t understand. I didn’t understand. Why not?”

Details about Jordan McNair’s death were reported at the same time as an ESPN investigation into the culture at Maryland that included the use of fear and intimidation toward players via extreme verbal abuse and other methods.

Marty McNair and Wilson were accompanied Thursday by lawyers from their legal team of Murphy, Falcon & Murphy, who at times interjected to the line of questions. Billy Murphy, one of the family attorneys, said their next step will be to have discussions with Maryland officials about a possible settlement.

Murphy said he was astounded at Loh’s statement Tuesday, in which he said the university accepts “moral and legal responsibility for the mistakes” made by its athletic training staff that ultimately led to Jordan McNair’s death.

“Now if that’s what they really mean,” Murphy said, “the next step will be to have discussions with them about the measure of damages to be paid to this young man’s family. And we anticipate a prompt resolution of this or else we’ll just go back to court.”