A week after the University of Maryland fired football coach DJ Durkin, the two trainers directly involved with the improper treatment of football player Jordan McNair when he suffered a fatal heatstroke May 29 have been terminated as well.
Head football trainer Wes Robinson and assistant athletic director Steve Nordwall, who oversaw the training staff, were informed Tuesday that they were fired by the university, sources familiar with the situation said Wednesday.
Along with Durkin, Robinson and Nordwall had been placed on paid administrative leave in mid-August.
A university spokeswoman confirmed in an email that "the trainers that were previously on administrative leave are no longer employed by the university." Maryland has never officially named either Robinson or Nordwall as the trainers involved.
Robinson and Nordwall, who were present when McNair fell ill during a team conditioning test May 29, failed to follow what has become the standard protocol for victims of heatstroke, according to an independent review of the circumstances that led to McNair's death.
The trainers did not take his temperature nor apply cold-water immersion therapy to reduce his body temperature.
The 19-year-old offensive lineman struggled to finish the test that consisted of 10, 110-yard runs. According to the independent review by former college trainer Dr. Rod Walters, Robinson yelled to other players near McNair to "drag his ass across the field" to help him finish.
According to the Walters report, the trainers also waited more than an hour to call 911 after failing to recognize the symptoms of heatstroke.
The former McDonogh School standout was measured to have a body temperature of 106 degrees when he began having seizures. He died June 13.
At a news conference Aug. 14, athletic director Damon Evans and university president Wallace Loh spoke of the "mistakes" made by Robinson and Nordwall on the day McNair suffered heatstroke.
Evans said the care provided by the trainers "was not consistent with best practices." Loh said that the training staff "basically misdiagnosed the situation." He added the university would take "legal and moral responsibility for mistakes the training staff made."
Efforts to reach Robinson and Nordwall since they were placed on administrative have been unsuccessful.
