Jordan McNair's Parents Say DJ Durkin Should Be Fired, Team Culture Led to Death

The parents of late University of Maryland offensive lineman Jordan McNair said Thursday that Terrapins head coach DJ Durkin should not be allowed to return to the sidelines.

In an interview with Good Morning America, Martin McNair and Tonya Wilson spoke out against Durkin and the events that led to their son's death after he suffered from heatstroke during a May 29 workout:

In the interview (h/t ESPN.com), Martin McNair said the following regarding Durkin's status:

"He shouldn't be able to work with anybody else's kid. You send your kid away to college for them to be developed into young people—and that's physically, emotionally and spiritually. And teach our young kids, our young people that we worked so hard to get there, to 'Hey, I'm giving my child to you. Keep him safe.' 

"They did anything but that. So of course he should be fired."

Jordan McNair died at the age of 19, two weeks after collapsing on the practice field.

Durkin is currently on administrative leave in the wake of an ESPN report into the alleged "toxic culture" within the Maryland football program.

Wilson suggested her son didn't stop running during the May 29 workout out of fear for the repercussions he would have faced: "Jordan was the type of person who would give his all, give his best, because someone asked him to do something. He would always give his all. He wouldn't have stopped. He wouldn't have stopped. If that's the culture, he didn't want to be called any names, things that they say they've been called."

In the ESPN report, several current and former Terrapins players and staff members said Durkin and recently fired strength and conditioning coach Rick Court used "fear and intimidation" to motivate players.

"Extreme verbal abuse" was allegedly commonplace, as was the questioning of a player's manhood if he failed to complete a workout or weight lift.

On Tuesday, University of Maryland President Wallace D. Loh announced that the school had taken "legal and moral responsibility" for McNair's death.

Per ESPN's Heather Dinich, attorney Billy Murphy (who is representing the McNair family) said last week that McNair suffered a seizure 45 minutes into the May 29 workout and had a body temperature of 106 degrees when he arrived at the hospital.

Anonymous players told Dinich that the training staff attempted to walk McNair across the field after he collapsed, leading the McNair family and Murphy to conduct an investigation into how the situation was handled.

Murphy added that a lawsuit is likely to be filed against the University of Maryland.

With Durkin on administrative leave, offensive coordinator Matt Canada is serving as Maryland's interim head coach as the season opener on Sept. 1 against Texas approaches.