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Is it possible D.J. Durkin remains HC at Maryland?

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C-Man

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Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic has a lengthy report today on the status of the University of Maryland’s ongoing investigation into suspended head coach D.J. Durkin, his toxic football program, and the death of Jordan McNair. That investigation should reportedly be wrapping up soon, and despite all the nasty details that have come out about the program under Durkin’s watch, many parents are worried that the school will retain him to satisfy the wishes of powerful boosters.

That last bit is all the more bleak for how unsurprising it is, but Auerbach’s story also details efforts by parents of several key players to organize and voice their opposition to Durkin’s potential reinstatement. They have had meetings with Maryland athletic director Damon Evans and have also tried to make sure they all get a chance to talk to the independent investigators in charge of the case, because, in one parent’s words, “We are worried that this narcissistic sociopath is going to come back. To me, he should never coach again.”

Several parents have spoken to investigators, though they’ve recently become worried that they’re not being taken seriously. For one, they say investigators haven’t tried to speak to the families of players who left the program because of Durkin’s allegedly abusive behavior. They also were concerned when the investigators looking into McNair’s death didn’t initially reach out to players who were at McNair’s final workout. “We’re worried that it is all predetermined,” said a parent. “That this is a whole charade meant to appease the people who feel like they have to say something.”

The parents who spoke to The Athletic say that things are much better under offensive coordinator Matt Canada.

“(My son) said Canada is like, ‘We’ll go in here, we’re going to get this shit done and then we’re getting the hell home,’ ” a different parent said. “They go in, they do their practices, and they go home. He said there’s no screaming, there’s no yelling, there’s none of that threatening or anything. He said Canada may yell, like, ‘What the hell are you doing?’ But he said, ‘He doesn’t get in my face. He doesn’t make me feel worthless.’ ”

The story also details how players have had to cope with what they say was a hostile, abusive environment under Durkin. Unpaid college football players should not have to play for a coach who allegedly punishes players that he thinks are faking injuries, or allegedly yells that they’re “thieves” stealing scholarships from Maryland that they don’t deserve, or is so severely cruel to them that they need anti-anxiety medications just to get through the day. Hopefully, Maryland actually listens to these concerns.

[The Athletic]

https://deadspin.com/maryland-football-parents-are-organizing-against-narci-1829790534

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A group of Maryland football parents is strongly against DJ Durkin’s return

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By Nicole Auerbach Oct 16, 2018comment-icon.png 51 save-icon.png

As suspended Maryland head coach DJ Durkin’s job status remains unclear, a group of team parents is worried about his potential reinstatement and what it could mean for their sons.

At least a half-dozen parents of Maryland football players have banded together to speak out against Durkin in recent weeks, including more attempts to speak to the commission that is investigating reports of a toxic culture under Durkin’s watch and in a recent parents’ meeting with athletic director Damon Evans.

Three of those parents spoke with The Athletic on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution for their sons, who are all major contributors on this year’s team. They said their sons told them that until the collapse and subsequent death of offensive lineman Jordan McNair on June 13, none of them informed their parents about player abuse in the program because they weren’t sure their parents would believe them and they didn’t want their parents to worry.

“This is stuff coming from these boys that have no reason to lie because they’re not nobodies,” one parent said.

Said another parent: “There’s nothing for them to gain by coming forward. They cannot win. This is a no-win for them. … It’s not just some disgruntled players.”

Said a third parent: “We are worried that this narcissistic sociopath is going to come back. To me, he should never coach again.”

The University of Maryland announced on Aug. 11 that it would commission an investigation into Durkin and the football culture he oversaw in response to an explosive ESPN report published Aug. 10. That report detailed a culture of intimidation and fear at the hands of Durkin and strength coach Rick Court, Durkin’s first hire at Maryland. Much of the information in that initial report has since been corroborated to The Athletic by former staff members and current players’ parents.

Now, with the investigation into Durkin stretching into its third month, these parents fear that Durkin will be reinstated and continue a coaching style built on verbal and physical abuse — even without Court, who resigned on Aug. 11.

“We’re terrified,” one of the parents said. “We feel like we’re alone. I said to (another parent), ‘Honey, you and I, we are the resistance. This son of a bitch is not coming back.’ I don’t care what we have to do. He’s not coming back to hurt our babies again or anybody else’s baby, period. He will not.”

All three parents said they have reached out to and have spoken to at least one representative of the commission tasked with investigating the culture of the football program under Durkin. Two said they felt they were taken seriously, at least initially, when they raised concerns and relayed anecdotes of abuse, both emotional and physical.

But in recent weeks, they have been told things that chip away at their belief that the commission is truly trying to get to the bottom of what really happened. Some players and parents of players who have left the program due to abuse have not been interviewed or even approached, they said.

“We’re worried that it is all predetermined,” one parent said. “That this is a whole charade meant to appease the people who feel like they have to say something.”

In response to The Athletic’s inquiry on Monday regarding the parents’ concerns, a spokesman for the University System of Maryland released the following statement: “The University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents in August assumed full authority to appoint an independent commission of experts on college athletics — whose backgrounds include medicine, law, and public service — to review the culture of the University of Maryland, College Park football program thoroughly and independently. The independent commission is committed to being thorough. Given that the board has not yet received the commission’s report, the USM therefore cannot comment at this time on its findings.”

A spokesperson for the University of Maryland told The Athletic on Monday that the school has actively supported the commission by “emailing parents, players and staff on multiple occasions to provide information about how to participate confidentially and encouraged participation.” Parents were given opportunities to meet with the commission in person after a parents’ meeting on Aug. 18 and to share concerns and questions with the commission at a parents’ meeting on Oct. 4, the spokesperson said. Contact information for all players and staff members since 2015 was given to the commission, and players also were given the opportunity complete an online survey that was created and handled by the commission.

But these parents have been skeptical about the process given the Rod Walters investigation into McNair’s death, which initially did not reach out to current players who witnessed the workout and the aftermath. And when players were encouraged to sign up to speak to investigators on McNair’s death — on a sheet hanging on a wall that everyone could see, far from the anonymity they were supposed to be promised — some were pressured to protect Durkin and his staff, two players told their parents.

On Monday, the University spokesperson sent the following statement to The Athletic: “The athletic department received feedback that it would be helpful to offer football student-athletes other opportunities to participate in the external review led by Rod Walters. The department then worked with the Walters group to identify a date where student-athletes could show up, without an appointment, to speak confidentially and participate in the external review. This was held in a convenient, central location on campus — not in an Athletics facility. All football players were encouraged to participate in the external safety review throughout the process.”

At the most recent parents’ meeting on Oct. 4, a few dozen parents met both in person and over Skype with Evans, Maryland’s athletic director, and a representative for the commission. They gathered to address concerns about the status of the commission and recent news articles detailing support for Durkin from prominent boosters — including one who tried to blame McNair for his own death in an interview with The Diamondback, Maryland’s student newspaper. Players, angered by these comments, ultimately went to Evans to get the booster removed from the football team’s travel party.

But parents hoping to gain clarity about the commission and a lack of follow-up on leads they have sent along were disappointed. Evans had few answers to their questions, they said. It’s a tenuous dynamic for multiple reasons, chief among them Evans’ potential responsibility and liability for a coach and football program that fall under his purview.

And because there also is a subset of team parents who have expressed unwavering support for Durkin, there have been tense exchanges between parents who previously considered each other friends.

“Some have said they don’t care, because their sons were not abused,” one parent said. “Do they not care that they’re supposed to be friends with Tonya (Wilson, McNair’s mother)? Do they not care that she has to wake up every morning with a dead son?”

Said another parent: “They’re all saying we’re just hysterical moms. ‘You guys are overreacting.’ ”

Said a third parent: “These other parents, I think, are trying to reconcile their decision to send their sons to Maryland. They are denying what happened.”

A vast majority of the parents in the program have been quiet publicly, choosing not to take sides in the matter because it is such a fraught situation and because they believe it could affect their sons’ chances to play professional football.

Maryland placed Durkin on administrative leave on Aug. 11, one day after ESPN published its initial report. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada, hired by Durkin in January, was named interim head coach.

By all accounts, the Terps have rallied together and behind Canada, starting with an emotional season-opening win against Texas after the players dedicated the 2018 season to McNair. Maryland is 4-2 under Canada.

The parents who spoke to The Athletic said their sons have told them they’re much happier playing and practicing under Canada. They said they have felt respected more than they ever have before.

“They’re not scared,” one parent said. “It’s normal, it’s what they thought they signed up for: football. (My son) said, ‘You still get yelled at, you still get called names, but nobody is abused or degraded or hurt in any way — physically hurt.’ Nobody is scared.”

One significant difference between Durkin and Canada, according to the parents, is the amount of time their sons are required to spend inside Gossett Team House on a daily basis. Under Durkin, players had to be there most of the day when they weren’t in class, even if there wasn’t a specific football reason to do so. To that parent, this reeked of a way to control his players, by controlling their time.

“(My son) said Canada is like, ‘We’ll go in here, we’re going to get this shit done and then we’re getting the hell home,’ ” a different parent said. “They go in, they do their practices, and they go home. He said there’s no screaming, there’s no yelling, there’s none of that threatening or anything. He said Canada may yell, like, ‘What the hell are you doing?’ But he said, ‘He doesn’t get in my face. He doesn’t make me feel worthless.’ ”

This group of parents knows time might be running out, with the final report from the commission expected soon. More than eight weeks have passed since the commission’s formation was announced.

The full Board of Regents is scheduled to meet Friday, and it is unclear if Durkin’s status will be addressed at that time. Durkin remains on paid administrative leave.

The parents fear that the length of the investigation suggests that Maryland may end up reinstating Durkin. This is despite the information they’ve submitted, as well as a letter that a former player’s mother submitted to school officials a year and a half before McNair’s death outlining her concerns about an abusive culture. This was early in Durkin’s tenure in College Park.

Multiple players have needed to see therapists and/or been prescribed medication — anti-anxiety and anti-depressants — to get through each day, all three parents said. One parent said her son was one of them.

These parents said they worry that players will again endure emotional and physical abuse, including punishment for injuries, should Durkin be reinstated. Coaches even punished players if they thought players were faking injuries, one parent said.

“As a football player, they’re thinking, ‘If I don’t suck it up, I’m soft,’ ” one parent said. “ ‘As a football player, if I don’t take this, there’s something wrong with my manhood.’ ”

But they watched one of their teammates collapse and not receive appropriate medical care. They saw why McNair died, and how the staff did not initially tell the truth about what happened. And then the floodgates opened, with the players telling their parents stories of verbal abuse — Durkin telling players that they were “thieves” who were stealing money from the state of Maryland because they didn’t deserve their scholarships — and physical abuse, like Court throwing weights at players when he was angry with them, multiple parents said.

“Coaches come into your house and tell you they’re going to take care of your kids,” one parent said. “They say, ‘Don’t worry. We’re like a second family. I’ll get on his case about schoolwork.’ You think there’s no way these guys will do anything bad to my son. They have my son’s best interest at heart. …

“What do we expect? We don’t expect our boys to be abused. We don’t expect our boys to collapse. We expect them to get full medical care when they need it. And we don’t expect them to die. Just because it’s Division I, Power 5, that does not mean that it’s right or OK. I’m not standing for this.”

(Photo by Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post via Getty Images)

 

 

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phdhorn

phdhorn 6224

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Announcement on his fate expected today.

Interesting dynamic:  the press is pretty much against him staying, but the majority of present and former players under him (and parents) want him to stay - there have been a number of articles I read up there saying one dent in the armor is that he has more support than thought, and not just from the donor crowd.  Most players (something like 75%) want him to stay .  I think that's why this has taken so long.  The culprit (strength coach) has been canned, apparently the AD is a possible goner, President is 50/50.

My bet is that Durkin stays and has to do some sort of penance. I could live with that.  The report already said the culture is not "toxic" but needs improvement.

Canada has done a great job with this team though, although they're going to lose 3 of the next 4 (Sparty, OSU and Pedo State).  But they're already 5-3 and will make a bowl under him (beat Indy).  Possibly for that reason they'll keep Canada and tell Durkin to walk.

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Brothahorn

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Announcement on his fate expected today.

Interesting dynamic:  the press is pretty much against him staying, but the majority of present and former players under him (and parents) want him to stay - there have been a number of articles I read up there saying one dent in the armor is that he has more support than thought, and not just from the donor crowd.  Most players (something like 75%) want him to stay .  I think that's why this has taken so long.  The culprit (strength coach) has been canned, apparently the AD is a possible goner, President is 50/50.

My bet is that Durkin stays and has to do some sort of penance. I could live with that.  The report already said the culture is not "toxic" but needs improvement.

Canada has done a great job with this team though, although they're going to lose 3 of the next 4 (Sparty, OSU and Pedo State).  But they're already 5-3 and will make a bowl under him (beat Indy).  Possibly for that reason they'll keep Canada and tell Durkin to walk.
Well they better just endorse that bowl check over to Jordan's family.
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phdhorn

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The press hates it, most of the fans outside of College Park thinks it's horribad, the majority of the players and their parents want it.
Like I said, I kind of figured it was going that way last month and I was up there and read a lot of stuff on how much he had support from the team - the overwhelming majority of players really wanted him to stay.  That was the difference.

However if I were Matt Canada, I'd bolt.  He's already proven his value and could be a head coach.  I'd prefer him to Durkin, but meh, it'll work out.

I don't think though that this was some sort of "sell out".  Durkin is no Urban Meyer and Maryland is no Ohio State.   He's 11-15 for chrissake.  And the "donor pressure" up there in football is almost zilch.  Basketball is another story - that's their cash cow.  I mean, holy fuck, what would they possibly be wanting to save this guy's neck for if "winning" mattered over anything else.  Canada's winning at 3X the pace of Durkin.  

I know the culture up there... the Regents were ready to can him, but then they got a lot of honest blowback by the players who said they wanted him to stay.  The regents had to change gears, and took their time about it.  They canned the asshole responsible - the strength coach.

All that said, 1) we're talking about Maryland, not a power team.  It don't make a shit from a winning standpoint and honestly it's kind of comical to think they were saving his ass due to not wanting to let a "winner" go. 2) Again, there is no big power play in the donors.  Yeah a lot of them wanted him to stay, but I know if they canned him, they wouldn't have stopped contributing; 3) all that said, if Durkin even pisses wrong, he's going to be out.   And no doubt all of that hardcore shit has to go.. if he can't coach differently, he'll be gone.

I don't think there is any more danger to the players now.  That guy was the reason and he's gone.  Nevertheless, it's going to be an interesting month.  Especially after he gets back this week and Maryland goes 0-3 against B1G heavyweights (MSU this week, Ohio State in 3 weeks, Penn State in 4... Indiana is in 2 weeks, and that's very winnable, but Indiana isn't a walkover - Durkin could go 0-4 this month... then what, lol?).  Canada, don't sell your house just yet.

Anyway, mercifully, Maryland's off Texas' schedule now, so Texas has a shot a the big time next year (lol).

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phdhorn

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Just watched a live feed of BOR press conference.  This wasn't Durkin speaking, it was the BOR chair fielding questions. President Loh answered a few questions as well.

To say that Dr. Loh was frosty is putting it nicely.  BOR chair went to shake his hand at the end of the meeting and low completely turned away from him. Good theater.

Yeah, this is going to be a shit mess for a while, especially after Maryland loses at least the next three out of four if not all for under Durkin.

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Bullneck

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2 hours ago, SimonBolivar said:

If UM regents are willing to do that for Durkin imagine what they'd be willing to do for Turgeon if he won a few games.

We should schedule them and kick their ass.  Show them how REAL football is played.

 

But seriously, hopefully they'll lose out (that's the opposite of "win out") and Durkin will get shitcanned.  I'd say I'm surprised at the whole thing but the Fourth Reich in America kinda blew that.  (Total CR, BTW).

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PittsburghTiger

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https://sports.yahoo.com/d-j-durkin-unfathomably-still-maryland-football-coach-202236915.html

 

The sum total of professional employees of the University of Maryland held accountable for the completely preventable death of football player Jordan McNair is now known.

That total is one.

Strength coach Rick Court, a proud troglodyte who frequently degraded players by calling them vile names, including antigay slurs, is the only employee known publicly to lose his job in this entire tragedy. And part of the process of getting rid of Court was giving him a $315,000 settlement to go along with his August resignation.

The primary powers within the athletic department are back, per the school’s announcement Tuesday afternoon. At the reported insistence of the University System of Maryland Board of Regents, head coach D.J. Durkin, suspended since mid-August, is back —a decision railroaded past school president Wallace Loh. Athletic director Damon Evans is back.

Jordan McNair is never coming back.

The regents are shrugging off that little detail, moving past the worst thing that could possibly happen in a college athletic program, keeping intact a leadership team that fundamentally failed the student-athlete welfare test. A young man dies because of the football program and everyone goes marching along to victory, as the school fight song goes.

“We believe that Coach Durkin has been unfairly blamed for the dysfunction in the athletic department,” Maryland Board of Regents chairman Jim Brady said. “And while he shares some responsibility, it is not fair to place all of it at his feet.”

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