ESPN: The inside story of a toxic culture at Maryland football

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I get a bit sick of ESPN.

I had their radio show on this morning and it was "Dario and Mel" with Myron in for Mel.

They talked about Maryland, and their attitudes were, "what, players were being embarrassed in front of their teammates" and they were "pushed too hard", "and they were made to eat too much in order to gain weight to the point of vomiting". "How does this happen?"

Not absolving anything Maryland did because I don't know what really happened, but to take this stance like "Oh wow... there might be some college football head coaches who are maybe pushing their kids too far from a training aspect" is B.S.
Are we going to think OSU, Alabama, Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Clemson, Georgia, Miami, etc., aren't programs where kids might get pushed hard?

If they've been aware of the training at the top 60 football programs, I could bet you would find strength and conditioning coaches / programs that are borderline across 40 of those 60.
 

BREAKING:

DJ Durkin placed on leave.
 

Maryland coach D.J. Durkin placed on administrative leave.
 


Livingat45north said:
Durkin coached for Urban Meyer at Bowling Green and Florida. Watch the Veritas video with past Florida players talking about Meyer and you'll see a lot of similarities between the two -- way too excessive of workouts (till you pass out), humiliating individual players in front of teammates, and so forth. Makes me like PJ all the more.
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How do these things make these guys better football players? I agree that all players can be pushed, but give me a break. This coach is gone...I also think that even though coaches move around a lot the attrition on Durkin's appears to be excessive. Again, he's gone.
 


I’m sure Nick Saban has been pushing players hard for years and it’s showing.. just no deaths.. I’m sure there was something wrong physically with this kid...
 


Two coaches down, twelve to go...

Here’s a defense of the Durkin regime by a former captain. There was no need to sensationalize the very real tragedy of McNair dying. Really tired of this crap.



Braglio said former teammates who were quoted in an explosive ESPN story Friday detailing incidents of verbal abuse by Durkin, as well as by strength and conditioning coach Rick Court, were using McNair’s death as an opportunity to get back at coaches who considered them not good enough to play for the Terps.

“After the transition from Coach [Randy] Edsall to Coach Durkin [in December 2015], there were kids on the team that didn’t want to play football. They didn’t want to be part of a winning team, is the best way I can put that,” Braglio said in a telephone interview. "There were some kids there that were along for the ride.

“They get the gear, they get to say they play for Maryland football, but they don’t really get to put on the pads or play in a game. They don’t want to go through the work.”

One player quoted in the ESPN story, former Dunbar standout Malik Jones, said Durkin pulled him into an office after the coach noticed the defensive lineman smiling during a team meeting and told Jones to leave Maryland. (Jones later transferred to Toledo.)

Braglio, also a former defensive lineman who called Jones “one of my good friends,” said Durkin’s actions were justified.

“They did have an altercation, but Malik was sitting in the meeting room. He was an older guy, and he’s sitting back there laughing. He was on his phone or on his iPad watching videos during a team meeting,” Braglio recalled. “It’s a huge slap in the face to the head coach. You have to keep the players in check.”


http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/...nd-football-braglio-dj-durkin-0811-story.html


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Deckergopher said:
I’m sure Nick Saban has been pushing players hard for years and it’s showing.. just no deaths.. I’m sure there was something wrong physically with this kid...
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Something wrong physically- please enlighten us with your reasoning and differential diagnosis


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Surprised that more players don't leave the program...at least the good ones.
 

#2Gopher said:
Surprised that more players don't leave the program...at least the good ones.
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Maybe because ESPN very likely contacted the players that transferred fishing for comments. Did you read my link??
 

denguegopher said:
How do these things make these guys better football players? I agree that all players can be pushed, but give me a break. This coach is gone...I also think that even though coaches move around a lot the attrition on Durkin's appears to be excessive. Again, he's gone.
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Pushing 19 year old kids to the brink of exhaustion and heat stroke doesnt make you a better player. It makes the player more susceptible to having another episode or long term issues from this.

Player buy in, team leadership, and a good S and C arevbetter than doing windsprints until you lose levels of consciousness
 

Pompous Elitist said:
Maybe because ESPN very likely contacted the players that transferred fishing for comments. Did you read my link??
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Yes, but I guess I was thinking MORE (Did appreciate your link by the way). I wouldn't tolerate it. I also don't agree that all coaches are like Durkins according to one source.
 



Ferentz a few years back and Frost this past offseason at NE had guys with rhabdo after excessive training.
 

swingman said:
Ferentz a few years back and Frost this past offseason at NE had guys with rhabdo after excessive training.
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Yeah and the fan response is not helpful with all the "Oh they were just not in shape!" stuff.

I feel like conditioning coaches just get swapped at random and it's always the next guy who will be tougher ... I wonder if that randomness feeds this kinda thing.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
Most players survive conditioning training just fine. The main problem, it seems, with this scenario was a) excessive exercise of a high BMI, read “overweight” individual on a high heat index day on the first or second day of practice, b) a delay in recognizing a serious problem, c) an apparent 1 hour delay in calling emergency personnel. Like a plane crash, it’s usually a confluence of factors including multiple human errors.

The yelling at players, etc seems like sour grapes. Let’s see if anyone defends the coaches after that hit piece. If there are crickets then it’s a little more damning.
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I read through this thread and I share your skepticism. THe ESPN article reads bad, but because I was Airborne Infantry I have some experience working out in extreme heat indexes.

The high Temp in College Park Maryland on May 29th was 82 degrees. it reached that at noon and started cooling off around 3 PM. The relative humidity was 70%. From 12 to 6PM the temp dropped from 82 to 71. The max heat index for that day would have been 86. Not exactly sure what it was from 4-5 though.

However, on that day it did register on the US heat index chart, but just barely into the caution area.

He performed 110 yard sprints. That stinks, but is not a ridiculous workout. We did at the end of every high school football practice in much hotter weather.

Moreover, I was in the Army we also did much harder workouts, with far higher heat indexes. Oftentimes, guys would do this crap still drunk from the night before. You could smell it seeping out in formation.

One guy in my platoon suffered heat stroke in the field (down in August in Louisiana) , it was 120 heat index and we took care of him right there (No medevac). He was convulsing. He just retired from the Army.

In the Army, everyone knows how to recognize heat exhaustion. And everyone knows what to do. We pulled his pants down and stuck an IV where the sun don't shine. No joke. Like I said, he was fine. Never needed to be evaced. Of course, we all are trained to deal with heat stoke. We are also all trained to manage our own hydration.

I'd bet, most college football programs screw up teaching how to properly hydrate. Seems wierd to me That trainers and Doctor (Korey Stringer case) don't also do this immediately. I thought it was co

I think there must have been other factors. The kid was not properly hydrated and something else was the matter.

Clearly he died of heat stroke, but the risk factors should have been low, given the conditions.
 

atsgopher said:
I read through this thread and I share your skepticism. THe ESPN article reads bad, but because I was Airborne Infantry I have some experience working out in extreme heat indexes.

The high Temp in College Park Maryland on May 29th was 82 degrees. it reached that at noon and started cooling off around 3 PM. The relative humidity was 70%. From 12 to 6PM the temp dropped from 82 to 71. The max heat index for that day would have been 86. Not exactly sure what it was from 4-5 though.

However, on that day it did register on the US heat index chart, but just barely into the caution area.

He performed 110 yard sprints. That stinks, but is not a ridiculous workout. We did at the end of every high school football practice in much hotter weather.

Moreover, I was in the Army we also did much harder workouts, with far higher heat indexes. Oftentimes, guys would do this crap still drunk from the night before. You could smell it seeping out in formation.

One guy in my platoon suffered heat stroke in the field (down in August in Louisiana) , it was 120 heat index and we took care of him right there (No medevac). He was convulsing. He just retired from the Army.

In the Army, everyone knows how to recognize heat exhaustion. And everyone knows what to do. We pulled his pants down and stuck an IV where the sun don't shine. No joke. Like I said, he was fine. Never needed to be evaced. Of course, we all are trained to deal with heat stoke. We are also all trained to manage our own hydration.

I'd bet, most college football programs screw up teaching how to properly hydrate. Seems wierd to me That trainers and Doctor (Korey Stringer case) don't also do this immediately. I thought it was co

I think there must have been other factors. The kid was not properly hydrated and something else was the matter.

Clearly he died of heat stroke, but the risk factors should have been low, given the conditions.
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Thank you for giving some perspective to the situation. It is obvious that some programs don’t give as much of a priority to recognizing and preventing heat exhaustion. It should be mandatory training for all coaches and players!


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The official report will be released in mid- September and should help delineate what if any treatment was given prior to calling EMS and getting him to an ED. What if any pre-existing conditions he had will not be released per privacy rules but will come out at trial, if it gets that far. What we know is he was probably grossly overweight, and apparently under conditioned and underacclimated. Who knows what else contributed. The lawsuits will bring everything out, dueling experts, etc.. The school has deep pockets to settle if it sees fit and finds it has a poor hand.

Appreciate the story ATS. Some people will freeze up or go into denial in the midst of an emergency, or be slow to recognize what’s going on, or fail to call in help when they should This can happen to the best at times.
 

While it’s very likely mistakes were made and some careers will end regarding McNair and his tragic passing, the hit piece ESPN put out regarding Durkin was obviously crafted with an agenda.

Stew Mandel continues his descent into insanity with this tweet. Where have all the journalists gone? Used to really like this guy when he covered sports.

 

Pompous Elitist said:
While it’s very likely mistakes were made and some careers will end regarding McNair and his tragic passing, the hit piece ESPN put out regarding Durkin was obviously crafted with an agenda.

Stew Mandel continues his descent into insanity with this tweet. Where have all the journalists gone? Used to really like this guy when he covered sports.

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I can see both sides of this issue on player treatment. Anytime that a person is given responsibility for and control of the handling of another person, situations will arise that cause people to question their treatment.

I agree with Muschamp that an anonymous source is not as credible as a named one. But, if that anonymous source coach ever wants to work again, he’s not going to put his name on it. And, if he doesn’t speak out on the problem, if there is one, it may not be addressed seriously.

IMO, the solution is for the assistant coach to address the issue with the head coach while he’s employed under him, then the AD instead of the media after he’s not employed there. Unfortunately, this would still put the assistant coach’s future job prospects in jeopardy.

I don’t see how Mandel’s tweet is “insanity”.
 

KillerGopherFan said:
I can see both sides of this issue on player treatment. Anytime that a person is given responsibility for and control of the handling of another person, situations will arise that cause people to question their treatment.

I agree with Muschamp that an anonymous source is not as credible as a named one. But, if that anonymous source coach ever wants to work again, he’s not going to put his name on it. And, if he doesn’t speak out on the problem, if there is one, it may not be addressed seriously.

IMO, the solution is for the assistant coach to address the issue with the head coach while he’s employed under him, then the AD instead of the media after he’s not employed there. Unfortunately, this would still put the assistant coach’s future job prospects in jeopardy.

I don’t see how Mandel’s tweet is “insanity”.
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Because all the facts aren’t known? Getting both sides of a story used to be a fundamental tenet of journalism...no?

Mandel et al are jumping to conclusions about numerous issues and yes, that’s insane. That’s not journalism or even common sense.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
Because all the facts aren’t known? Getting both sides of a story used to be a fundamental tenet of journalism...no?

Mandel et al are jumping to conclusions about numerous issues and yes, that’s insane. That’s not journalism or even common sense.
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I haven’t followed what Mandel has written on this story. I’m only reacting to this tweet being insane. I’m not seeing that.

I think Muschamp is sincerely defending a former colleague. But he wasn’t there either. And, he knows any coach that publicly made that claim would likely never coach D-1 college again, so it’s disingenuous to make that statement.

I would like to see the media note that anonymous claims aren’t as credible as open claims or accounts. Based on your opinion, don’t you think Jeff Snook should say who his source is for the Tom Herman claim?
 

KillerGopherFan said:
I haven’t followed what Mandel has written on this story. I’m only reacting to this tweet being insane. I’m not seeing that.

I think Muschamp is sincerely defending a former colleague. But he wasn’t there either. And, he knows any coach that publicly made that claim would likely never coach D-1 college again, so it’s disingenuous to make that statement.

I would like to see the media note that anonymous claims aren’t as credible as open claims or accounts. Based on your opinion, don’t you think Jeff Snook should say who his source is for the Tom Herman claim?
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Muschamp is saying they are allegations and should be treated as such - let the facts come out.

Yes, I think any story is more trustworthy with a known source. In the old days we could trust journalists to vet their unnamed sources and their facts. Unfortunately we’ve seen some are so eager to break a story and/or push an agenda they bypass that step. The agenda is outrage and attention, not getting the story right or balanced. It’s sad.

Snook is just as credible as McMurphy and for the time being moreso. That messy saga doesn’t have many known facts. I don’t see how it applies here other than to reinforce to not jump to conclusions. Some are slow learners, but some are desperate for clicks and subscribers.
 
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Pompous Elitist said:
Muschamp is saying they are allegations and should be treated as such - let the facts come out.

Yes, I think any story is more trustworthy with a known source. In the old days we could trust journalists to vet their unnamed sources and their facts. Unfortunately we’ve seen some are so eager to break a story and/or push an agenda they bypass that step. The agenda is outrage and attention, not getting the story right or balanced. It’s sad.

Snook is just as credible as McMurphy and for the time being moreso. That messy saga doesn’t have many known facts. I don’t see how it applies here other than to reinforce to not jump to conclusions. Some are slow learners, but some are desperate for clicks and subscribers.
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I actually like Muschamp, and I agree with some of what he says. Especially the first part about judging/criticizing the "performance" and not the "performer." That's something I think all coaches should hear. But I think what Mandel has an issue with is when Muschamp says that it was "gutless" for the former staffer to offer that information anonymously. I can't think of one coach who brought information forward (even if that information was 100% valid) that hurt the head coach of the program they were working for and still was able to work in their field again. It's rare that it happens, but look at guys like Mike McQueary or Abar Rouse. I think Mandel is basically defending the use of anonymous sources, because in certain cases there is no way you are going to get a story (even if that story is 100% true) without allowing a source to remain anonymous. Now obviously it is very important to vet the source and verify their story through other avenues. Whether that was done I can't say for sure.

Mandel had another tweet in response to someone who said that it's stupid to allow millionaire coaches to go on paid leave while the student-athletes can get their scholarships ripped away without much of an investigation if they were the one involved. And Mandel responded with something about schools needing to do their own investigation before making such a big decision. Obviously a wrongful termination lawsuit for an employee making that kind of money could get very expensive. So I don't think he is supporting a "rush-to-judge" agenda or believes that we shouldn't wait for all the facts to come out.

The last thing I'll say is on the topic of balanced reporting. In the Maryland situation, both Durkin and the AD were made aware of the ESPN investigative report before it was made public, and declined to comment. I believe I recall seeing something about Durkin sending a letter to players' families making them aware that the story was going to run. So, they were offered the opportunity to respond to the allegations and opted not to. My point in saying that is that we know at least some attempt was made to get the other side of the story.

I think there are good journalists and bad, but I am not a fan of the way it seems that so many people don't want to believe a story just because they don't like it. Doesn't mean people shouldn't take a critical look at the information presented in any investigative reporting, but it goes too far that way sometimes. I haven't seen as much reaction with Durkin, but the reaction of most Ohio State fans with regards to the Urban Meyer/Zach Smith situation seems to be that unless there is video evidence of Smith beating his wife and another video of Urban Meyer telling Smith he would cover it up then it never happened.
 
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Pompous Elitist said:
.... What we know is he was probably grossly overweight, and apparently under conditioned and underacclimated. Who knows what else contributed......
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You say you never want to jump to conclusions, but you fill your “What we know” statement with “probably” and “apparently”.

What we do know is that he was dehydrated, which is something that anyone trained in heat exhaustion can easily spot. Improper conditioning may have aggravated the issue, but the coaches have no excuse for killing that poor young man.


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He was 325 pounds...

Yes, when you’re not certain about something it’s appropriate to use qualifiers. Crazy me.
 

Re:Bizzle’s post yes there is a long history of unnamed sources but a professional ought to be able to discern whether there are motives other than altruistic. Every outlet that reported on Snook’s breaking stories made sure to mention he was an Ohio beat writer for years and has written some books about Ohio State football. Fair to bring that up but we don’t see any mention of other journalist motives that may be less than honorable.

Mandel has a history of forming snap judgments without looking at all the facts. You mentioned something about school investigations - Mandel would never question ehether an investigation is fair because in his mind allegations are always true. He has expounded on this on various issues. He’s smart, but not street smart. He’s as gullible as can be.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
He was 325 pounds...

Yes, when you’re not certain about something it’s appropriate to use qualifiers. Crazy me.
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Trying not to be picky, but you don’t see the irony in your statement?

“What we know is he was probably grossly overweight, and apparently under conditioned and underacclimated.” What we know is a statement of fact, but the “facts” are all things you “are not certain about”... they are assumptions because he was 325 pounds. Normally wouldn’t be so picky, but you are the first to jump on others about not waiting for the facts.


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Every person who talks to a reporter has an agenda. On or off the record - quoted by name or anonymous. Every person who talks to a reporter has an agenda.

That agenda may be altruistic "I want to tell the truth." "I want to do the right thing." Or the agenda may be selfish: "I want to settle a score with my former boss - or my former spouse."

That is why the rule for legitimate news operations is multiple sources. If one person tells you something, it may or not be credible. But if multiple sources tell you the same thing, or something similar, that greatly increases the likelihood that the story is credible.

In the Maryland case, there are multiple sources who said Maryland deals with football players in a matter that at least some people will find questionable.

Don't want to get too political on this thread, but if people keep attacking the media because they don't like the news, that could take us in a really bad direction.
 

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