In the wake of learning more about the circumstances that led up to the tragic death of Maryland
offensive lineman Jordan McNair from heat stroke related exhaustion, I was ready to write a column
that defined exactly what toxic culture is and why it should be called out and resisted at every turn.
After all, a 19-year old young man is dead.
Not hurt: one assumes the risk of injuries when playing football. The game cannot be made safe.
Not paralysis: one assumes the risk of that as well, though it is tragic when it happens.
But surely no player or parents can reasonably be expected to accept death as a likely or probable
outcome from playing football, and for this to happened would seem to lend credence that only a
toxic culture would be permissible enough to allow.
Basic factors of the neglect such as not cooling the body down at the first signs of heat stroke or
waiting an entire hour after a seizure before calling the paramedics support the notion as well.
The family of McNair, with good reason, has hired superstar attorney Billy Murphy, in preparation for
a wrongful death suit against the University. Anyone that knows Maryland, will tell you that Murphy
is the closest thing in the area to Johnny Cochran. He is a mover and shaker and feared by both
police and corporate entities. Murphy has already called for Maryland coach DJ Durken to be shown
the door following the primary culprit, strength coach Rick Court.
So the stage is set for the typical corporate/organizational reaction, which goes about as described
thus far. Then denials of any wrong doing by the university, which then only attracts more external
scrutiny, that demands a pound of flesh…as it should.
You see the typical response to such happenings, be they of an institution or individual, is to go into
CYA mode, straight from the Scandal 101 playbook. It’s next to never about finding truth. It’s about
damage control over the damage itself. Because it is not about a finding of truth, what typically
happens is that a few mid-management folks are thrown under the bus, regardless of their culpability
(in this case, I can’t see a plausible defense for Durken). A few reforms of protocol will be put in
place, which usually do more to simply push the cultural toxicity underground than to uproot it, and
the institution proceeds over time to “just get past it”.
One of the best and yet pathetic examples of such institutional behavior is the Catholic Church.
Its latest is currently unfolding in Pennsylvania, where the behavioral pattern of abusing children and
then covering it up is on display. Insult to injury is the fact that if a priest abuses children, he is
transferred and unlikely to be held criminally accountable. But if a priest steals from the church, he
will go directly to jail! PROFIT OVER PEOPLE prevails yet again!
But a funny thing happened on the way to the standard script:
The University of Maryland refused to play its part.
In a press conference, University President Wallace D. Loh not only apologized to the family but took
moral and legal responsibility for McNair’s death. Of course this was the right thing to do, but it next
to never happens.
This was the equivalent of a vehicular manslaughter suspect admitting that he was driving the car
intoxicated. To do so is to make his own conviction a slam dunk and make himself liable for both criminal and civil
consequences. As a result, human nature being what it is, very rarely does an institution or
individual actually do this….even if they know full well that they are indeed responsible.
There are two primary reasons people and institutions are reluctant to admit when they are wrong;
one is ego, which is more prevalent among individuals. The other is liability, which is more common
among institutions.
Maryland’s actions will not save it from liability, nor should they. So why the change in script?
Some will contend that Maryland’s mea culpa was a desperate attempt by the president and athletic
director to save their jobs. Still others might say their admission was aimed at mitigating possible
NCAA sanctions, in the hopes of avoiding a Penn State-like fate.
As cynical as those reasons may sound, they are possible.
I would like to believe that this one time, a powerful American organizational entity is doing the right
thing, regardless of the price, simply because it is the right thing to do and in doing so, can possibly
reverse a sorry trend by its contemporaries, such as the Catholic Church.
Simply put, when such tragedies occur, you don’t need Olivia Pope to do the right thing. An honest
process of candid self-assessment, though difficult and expensive, will serve the aggrieved family,
the institution, and society in general, much better.
