Family reveals 19-year-old NCAA player died from heat stroke

By Ross Kelly July 17, 2018 at 9:11am

The family of a University of Maryland football player who died June 13 two weeks after collapsing during a workout has revealed the cause of his cause death.

Jordan McNair died due to “a heatstroke suffered during an organized offseason workout,” according to his family. The McNair family created a foundation in his honor, and the “About Us” section lists his cause of death in the first paragraph.

The Jordan McNair Foundation’s mission is “to promote awareness, educate, and advocate for parents and student athletes about heat related illness at the youth, high school, and collegiate levels. We seek to diminish the occurrence of heat-related illnesses and improve player safety.”

McNair was a redshirt freshman offensive lineman who was participating in offseason workout drills when he collapsed on May 29. He was hospitalized afterward and died at 19 years old two weeks later.

Maryland did not initially disclose the cause of death, citing privacy for the family. The school did, however, hire a sports medicine consulting firm to conduct an external review of the team’s protocols related to McNair’s death.

According to The Baltimore Sun, the review was set to begin on June 22 and could take up to 90 days to complete.

“Maryland Athletics continues to mourn the passing of football player Jordan McNair and our thoughts remain with his family and friends,” a university spokesman said in a statement Monday. “The safety and well-being of our student-athletes is at all times the highest priority. At the university’s request, Walters Incorporated is currently conducting an external review of all relevant policies and protocols involving student-athlete health and safety.”

The conditioning test that McNair was a part of was overseen by the football program’s strength and conditioning staff. The test began around 4:15 p.m. and included 10 110-yard sprints.

McNair completed the sprints, but medical staff then noticed that he was “having some difficulty recovering,” according to athletic director Damon Evans.

He then was taken inside to the training room for further observation, and medical personnel were called. EMS arrived on the scene, and McNair was transferred to a local hospital around 6 p.m.

A week after being admitted, McNair was listed as being in critical but stable condition. At that time, his parents created a GoFundMe account to help offset medical bills, and they also revealed that their son received a liver transplant while in the hospital.

But just one week after that update, McNair died. Maryland coach D.J. Durkin was emotional during a press conference afterward.

"My heart is broken, for the reason that we're all sitting here having this press conference."

– DJ Durkin on Jordan McNair's death pic.twitter.com/Ctskwqf6OE

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) June 14, 2018

“It’s not reasonable that a 19-year-old should pass away,” Durkin said. “It’s not reasonable that a family, parents — his parents, Marty and Tony, should ever have to go through this. As big as he was stature-wise, his heart was much bigger.”

McNair appeared in one game during his time in College Park after playing at nearby McDonogh School, where he was a consensus All-State player in high school.

In a letter on the foundation’s website, Jordan’s father, Martin McNair wrote: “Our plans did not include his death. Our plans included something more. Our plans included him. But God had other plans. Jordan gave us 19 great years, and we will miss him. He was a great son, grandson, cousin, nephew, brother, friend, student, roommate and teammate.”

“While Jordan is not with us to build his legacy, as a family we are doing it for him. This is his legacy. We ask but one thing, that you join us in keeping Jordan’s name and legacy alive by supporting The Jordan McNair Foundation (T.J.M.F.).”

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