Maryland boosters still backing coach D.J. Durkin despite evidence of toxic culture
Maryland head coach D.J. Durkin has been on administrative leave for nearly two months and an investigation into the alleged toxic culture of his football program is supposedly nearing its end.
Both ESPN and the Washington Post have presented descriptions, with former players speaking on the record, of their experiences in Durkin’s program.
The ESPN report, which prompted the university to put Durkin and several other staff members on leave, described a “coaching environment based on fear and intimidation” where “the belittling, humiliation and embarrassment of players is common” and “extreme verbal abuse of players occurs often.” The Washington Post story had similar on-the-record accounts and also showed that the mother of a former player sent a letter to the school in 2016 as a warning about what she witnessed within the program.
Even with the array of disturbing evidence detailing what went on under Durkin’s watch, including the mother of offensive lineman Jordan McNair saying she believes verbal intimidation contributed to her son’s death, Maryland boosters went on record with their support of Durkin.
McNair, 19, suffered a heat stroke following a May 29 conditioning workout and died June 13. McNair’s father said in August that Durkin should be fired, but several boosters interviewed by The Diamondback, Maryland’s student newspaper, believe otherwise.
Booster: It’s ‘ridiculous’ D.J. Durkin was put on leave
One booster, Rick Jaklitsch, said it is “ridiculous” that Durkin was placed on leave and that the program never had a “toxic culture.” Jaklitsch also had this to say about McNair’s death:
Another player interviewed said McNair didn’t look ready for the training session, and according to Walters’ report, McNair gained 16 pounds between April 9 and his final workout May 29. McNair also told trainers he hadn’t eaten since having a bowl of cereal the morning of the conditioning test, and his gallon of water provided by the team was later found unopened in his locker.
“As much as we hate to say this, Jordan didn’t do what Jordan was supposed to do,” Jaklitsch said. “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 he knew he had to drink, that’s going to send the wrong signal to the person running the drill.”
A university-commissioned investigation run by Dr. Rod Walters determined that the Maryland training staff did not follow proper procedures in addressing the symptoms exhibited by McNair on May 29. The university previously accepted “legal and moral responsibility” for “mistakes made” by the training staff.
Another booster, Bob Pinkner, was critical of McNair’s father, Martin McNair, for hiring a law firm and weighing the pursuit of legal action against the school. From The Diamondback:
Champions Club member Bob Pinkner, the CEO of a Baltimore-based beverage distribution company, felt that was disingenuous. Pinkner pointed to the fact that Durkin spoke at McNair’s funeral in June, which he said Martin asked the coach to do.
“If he hated him that much and wouldn’t trust his kid with him and all that, why would he ask him to give a eulogy?” Pinkner said. “All this hatred bit came up later, was all orchestrated by [the family’s attorney] Billy Murphy.”
Maryland boosters critical of the media
Pinker was also critical of the reporting done by ESPN and the Washington Post:
“It is interesting to note that every negative player quoted in this [Post] article never played or very little. And that the few quoted that did or do get on the field feel good about DJ,” Pinkner wrote in a text Sunday afternoon. “Otherwise I think this article is BS and will sell papers.”
“To take advantage of that tragedy and blow this whole thing up … was, pardon my French, bulls—,” Pinkner said. “(ESPN reporter Heather Dinich) took advantage of a tragedy and made it this big, big yellow journalism article.”
After tenures as an assistant at Stanford, Florida and Michigan, among others, Maryland hired Durkin in 2016 to succeed Randy Edsall. In his first two seasons, the Terps had a combined 10-15 record with a 5-13 mark in Big Ten play.
So far in 2018, with offensive coordinator Matt Canada serving as head coach, Maryland has a 3-1 record. The team had a bye over the weekend and will resume Big Ten play on Saturday at No. 15 Michigan.
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