Players Announce Memorials for McNair
Helmet Stickers, Moment of Silence, Scholarship Will Honor Teammate
By Liam Farrell
Photo by John T. Consoli
Photo by John T. Consoli
From wearing helmet stickers to placing their fallen teammate’s locker in a glass case, University of Maryland football players yesterday announced the ways they will strive to preserve the memory of student-athlete Jordan McNair.
“We plan to have his legacy live on forever,” said offensive lineman Ellis McKennie, surrounded by teammates at a Cole Field House press conference. “Every play we make, every snap we take will be in Jordan’s honor.”
Moments of silence will be held before the Sept. 1 game versus Texas at FedEx Field in Landover, and before a Sept. 15 game versus Temple at Maryland Stadium. Other plans include:
- Wearing helmet stickers with McNair’s number, 79.
- Endowing a scholarship in McNair’s name for a Maryland student-athlete.
- Honoring McNair on his scheduled senior day in 2020, and allowing a new player to wear 79 only after McNair would have graduated.
- Naming the new Cole Field House offensive line meeting room for McNair.
- Enclosing McNair’s locker in a glass case and moving it to Cole when the facility’s renovations are complete.
McNair, 19, collapsed at a team workout from heatstroke on May 29, and died 15 days later.
UMD President Wallace D. Loh announced last week that preliminary findings showed athletic training staff had failed to recognize the severity of McNair’s symptoms or use standard treatments for heatstroke. He also apologized to McNair’s parents, accepting responsibility for those mistakes. Head Coach D.J. Durkin and members of the training staff remain on administrative leave; strength and conditioning coach Rick Court resigned on Aug. 13.
The University of Maryland System Board of Regents is now leading the separate investigations launched into the circumstances of his death as well as the broader climate of the football program.
Offensive lineman Johnny Jordan, McNair’s former roommate, thanked Terps fans for their words of encouragement.
“It is now more than ever that we need your support,” he said. “We are all in this together.”
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