TOWSON, Md. -- Members of the Maryland athletic training staff failed to quickly diagnose and properly treat the heatstroke symptoms of 19-year-old offensive lineman Jordan McNair on May 29, according a report released Friday.
McNair died on June 13 from heatstroke, and had the athletic training staff provided him adequate care, "there might have been the opportunity to reverse the patient's core temperature," according to the report from Walters Inc.
"Hindsight is 20-20," said Rod Walters, who was hired by Maryland to conduct the investigation. "I think if we would have identified that earlier, it might have changed things."
The report by Walters said there was a delay of 34 minutes between when McNair first started cramping during a workout on May 29 to the time he was taken off the field. It took 1 hour, 7 minutes to call 911 from the onset of symptoms and another 32 minutes before he left in an ambulance to the hospital.
The findings were made public at Towson University following a closed meeting of the University System of Maryland Board of Regents -- almost three months after the first of two investigations began. On June 19, Maryland announced the hiring of Walters, a nationally recognized sports medicine consultant, to investigate the details of the workout and if McNair had received necessary treatment.
The USM board of regents is still waiting for the results of a second investigation, which is comprised of eight people tasked with looking into allegations of verbal abuse and bullying within the football program. There is still no timetable for the conclusion of that investigation, which is why no personnel decisions were announced Friday.
On Aug. 14, after ESPN reported McNair was admitted to a local hospital with a temperature of 106 degrees, University of Maryland president Wallace D. Loh revealed preliminary findings from the Walters Inc. report and said, "the university accepts legal and moral responsibility for the mistakes that our training staff made."
"The death of this young man is a tragedy, let there be no doubt about it, and we all feel very deeply about that," James Brady, the chair of the USM board of regents, said Friday. "But we are in the process of gathering facts, and I'm a fact guy. I like to know what the facts are before me make any conclusions [about whether the school is morally and legally responsible]."
Maryland coach D.J. Durkin remains suspended. Matt Canada will be the Terps' interim coach for a fourth game when the team plays Minnesota on Saturday.
Head athletic trainer Wes Robinson and director of athletic training Steve Nordwall were also placed on leave last month.
Loh has said all suspended staff members deserve "due process," and he wanted to wait until the two external investigations were completed before making any decisions. In August, the USM board of regents assumed control of both investigations.
McNair's parents, Marty McNair and Tonya Wilson, have said Durkin should be fired.
According to a copy of his contract, Maryland would need to pay Durkin roughly $6.5 million in a buyout. The contract stipulates that the school owes him 65 percent of what is left on his deal through the end of the 2021 season.
On Aug. 10, ESPN published a report in which two current Maryland players, multiple people close to the football program, and former players and football staffers described a culture based on fear and intimidation that centered around former strength and conditioning coach Rick Court, who has since resigned.
Last month, in a special four-hour meeting held in Baltimore, the board asked the office of the state attorney general to represent Maryland on "any and all legal claims related to Mr. McNair's death."
A spokesperson for the office of the attorney general said they had no comment on Friday's report.
The meeting began at 9 a.m., and the board voted unanimously to go into closed session just before 11 a.m. It was unclear throughout the day whether the entire report would be released as planned because attorneys for the McNair family didn't receive the findings until late Thursday night.
In a letter to the board of regents Thursday, attorney Hassan Murphy wrote, "the family has the right to review the report and insist on redaction of any material that would violate Jordan's privacy rights or violate federal state health privacy laws."
McNair's family decided against redacting any private information, however, because "Jordan's parents strongly feel that it is the broader conversation regarding the health and safety of student-athletes which is most important," Murphy wrote in an email to the office of the attorney general on Friday afternoon.
Murphy requested the report be given to the attorneys and the family before it was released to the public, and cautioned any premature release could "subject the university and those responsible for the such release to serious civil and criminal liability."
The office of the attorney general provided the documents around 11 p.m.
Last month, the law firm filed "notice of claim forms," which are formal letters notifying the state of the parents' intent to sue.
The filing, which does not guarantee a suit will be filed, is required by law to give the parents the right to file a formal lawsuit within a year. The filing claims an amount of damages "in excess of $10 million" for each parent, and the same amount to Jordan's estate for his pain and suffering prior to his death, for a total liability of more than $30 million.
Read Again http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/24756268/maryland-terrapins-football-staff-did-not-provide-adequate-care-death-jordan-mcnair-report-saysBagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Report finds Terps failed to properly diagnose, treat Jordan McNair"
Post a Comment