“…a player holding a meal while in a meeting had the meal slapped out of his hands in front of the team.”

“Players are routinely the targets of obscenity-laced epithets meant to mock their masculinity when they are unable to complete a workout or weight lift…”

“a player whom coaches wanted to lose weight was forced to eat candy bars as he was made to watch teammates working out.”

These are just a few of the allegations of verbal, emotional, and physical abuse enumerated in a bombshell report published by ESPN (Heather Dinich, Adam Rittenberg, Tom VanHaaren) Friday evening. This report has rocked the University of Maryland and the College Park community, and threatens to cause major changes at many different levels for the football program.

(Discuss this article on the BSL Message Board here.)

The Allegations

When DJ Durkin was hired to be Maryland’s head football coach in December of 2015, he was brought in to provide an exciting, youthful energy to a program that hadn’t provided much excitement in quite some time. Time under former head coach Randy Edsall was often described as militant and strict, with players banned from wearing dreadlocks and jewelry. But while the current head coach at Connecticut was strict, the word “abuse” wasn’t thrown around in College Park.

One of Durkin’s first hires after he accepted the job at Maryland was strength and conditioning coach Rick Court. Court’s name appears most often in ESPN’s report, and the University has since placed him on administrative leave along with trainers Wes Robinson and Steve Nordwall. He allegedly threw “small weights and other objects” in the direction of players when he was angry, and is described as “Durkin’s ‘confidant’” and for being “as much responsible for the culture as Durkin.”

These allegations come in the wake of Jordan McNair’s death, and create plenty of uncertainty surrounding how that situation was handled. An independent investigation into McNair’s death, being led by Dr. Rod Walters, is set to be completed on September 15. McNair’s family has also hired the law firm of Murphy, Falcon & Murphy to perform their own investigation. With so many of the allegations surrounding the training and conditioning staff, it’s hard not to wonder if they could have prevented McNair’s death.

The Reactions

In less than 24 hours, we’ve seen reactions to these allegations from all across the college football landscape. Members of the media, former players, players’ families, coaches, trainers, and fans have all weighed in with their experiences and opinions.

The Washington Post’s Barry Svrluga wrote Saturday morning that “DJ Durkin needs to get out now, if not sooner, and he needs to take his Neanderthal strength coach with him.”

The mother of former Maryland WR DeAndre Lane commented on Baltimore Sports and Life’s Facebook page that “not ONE LIE WAS TOLD.”

247Sports’ Jeff Ermann said in a series of tweets that “aside from the fate of DJ Durkin and his staff, reverberations of this should shake all the way up the totem pole and knock off school prez Wallace Loh.” He also said that there was “nothing in the initial ESPN story that hasn’t been swirling hard behind the scenes.”

However, not all of the reactions have been negative towards the program.

South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp, who was the head coach at Florida while Durkin was the Gators’ defensive coordinator, said that “there is no credibility in anonymous sources. If that former staffer had any guts, why didn’t he put his name on that? I think that’s gutless…I know DJ Durkin personally. I know what kind of man he is. I know what kind of person he is. I don’t think it’s right.”

Former Maryland LB Jermaine Carter, Jr. (currently with the Carolina Panthers) tweeted “too many softies out here man.”

In response to someone claiming that Maryland RB Anthony McFarland likely regrets signing with Maryland, he tweeted “Nah I’m good over here bro ON GOD .. and you going see why soon.”

What Happens Next?

As mentioned above, the University has placed Court, Robinson, and Nordwall on administrative leave. This isn’t too surprising as other than Durkin, Court and Robinson are the only coaches or trainers specifically mentioned in the report. With the team just a few weeks away from their 2018 season opener against Texas, further action against coaches, trainers, or members of the athletic department likely ought to be taken sooner rather than later for the sake of the players’ futures.

As the head coach, Durkin oversees every element of his football program. He has first-hand knowledge of everything that happens on a day-to-day basis involving his assistant coaches and his training staff. Reading ESPN’s report, it’s difficult to picture a scenario in which he’s on the sideline at FedEx Field on September 1. However, it’s also important to realize that this is just one side of the story. We’ll likely have a much clearer picture of what the University’s future actions should be, if any, as more information is released in the coming days.

One thing that seems lost in all of this is the players currently going through camp in College Park. As they attempt to prepare for an extremely important season for Maryland’s football program and their own futures in the sport, an enormous black cloud has been hung over Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium. If nothing else, the University owes it to these players to do everything in its power to give them the season that they deserve.

Zack Kiesel
Zack Kiesel

Terps Analyst

Zack is a financial analyst for a defense contractor in Washington, DC. The Owings Mills native focuses most of his efforts on Maryland Football recruiting and individual coach and player pieces; but also covers Terps Basketball. He has established relationships with Big Ten beat reporters across the conference, which he utilizes in his game previews. Now a Sr. Terps Analyst for BSL, Zack can be reached at: [email protected].

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