The University of Maryland is partnering with the Jordan McNair Foundation to honor Jordan McNair’s life and legacy, the school announced Wednesday. McNair, a Maryland football player, died after suffering heatstroke during a team workout in 2018.
In a campuswide email, university President Darryll Pines said this partnership will center on athlete safety and offer programming on topics including heat exertion, concussions, mental health and nutrition.
“There is nothing more important for our student-athletes than their health and safety,” Pines said in a release from the athletic department. “In partnership with the Jordan McNair Foundation, we will cement Jordan’s legacy and enhance a culture of player safety that will forever be a hallmark of Maryland Athletics.”
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This university’s football program is taking additional steps to honor McNair’s legacy and establishing the Jordan M. McNair Award for Courage, the athletics department announced. The award will be presented annually to the player who “reflects the spirit of McNair” through athletic and academic professionalism, dedication to the team, strength through adversity and “courage and conviction to do the right thing,” the release read.
In addition, the offensive line room in Cole Field House will be named after McNair, and the athletic department will work with the foundation to organize marketing and fundraising initiatives centered on the health and safety of athletes. The department will also donate $50,000 to the foundation in each of the next two years.
Also on Wednesday, the Maryland Board of Public Works officially approved a $3.5 million settlement from the university to the family of McNair.
“Today’s unprecedented settlement and partnership with the University of Maryland further emphasize that our son’s tragic death will not be in vain,” McNair’s father, Marty McNair, said in the release. “Darryll Pines has assured [Tonya Wilson, McNair’s mother] and me that this work is as meaningful to the university and athletic department as it is to us.”
This story has been updated.
