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The governing board of the Maryland university system will announce Friday the findings of an investigation into the death of Maryland offensive lineman Jordan McNair.
According to a letter sent Thursday by the family's lawyer to the chairman of the board, James T. Brady, he did not however inform McNair's parents of the status of this report nor gave the Opportunity to write private medical information.
The USM Board of Directors will hold its regular meeting at 9:00 am (Eastern Time) on Friday at the University of Towson and will begin a closed session during which members will be informed by Rod Walters, a nationally recognized sports medicine consultant. Maryland hired Walters to determine if the football staff had followed the proper protocol on May 29, when McNair, 19, suffered heat stroke during a workout. He died two weeks later, on June 13, from heat stroke.
The Murphy, Falcon & Murphy law firm wrote in a letter, obtained by ESPN, that McNair's parents did not know that the report would be released on Friday until the media learned it. .
"Jordan's parents do not want to learn the details of what happened to their son by watching television tomorrow and attending a press conference," said Hassan Murphy, managing partner of the law firm.
Murphy pointed out in the letter that "the family has the right to revise the report and insist on writing any material that would violate Jordan's privacy rights or violate federal health protection laws." public. "
Murphy requested that the report be given to lawyers and family before it was released and warned that any premature release could "expose the university and those responsible for this release to serious civil and criminal liability."
Later on Thursday, USM issued a statement in which it announced its intention to share the results with the McNair family, but did not say when.
"The Council of Regents of the Maryland University System is committed to finding the facts related to the circumstances of Jordan McNair's tragic death," the statement said. "As part of this effort, the board has assumed control of an investigation by Dr. Rod Walters and Dr. Walters is expected to inform the Board of its findings on Friday afternoon. learned its contents.
"The board deeply understands the concerns expressed in today's letter and does not intend to publicly share Mr. McNair's medical information, but the board intends to share the report with the family. Mr. McNair, the Attorney General's Office has contacted representatives of the McNair family to assure them of these facts and to discuss ways to address their concerns while maintaining the Board's commitment to transparency. "
The Attorney General's Office did not immediately return an e-mail requesting a comment.
In a phone interview with ESPN on Thursday, Murphy said Martin McNair and Tonya Wilson, Jordan's parents, were "disappointed and angry."
"It is obvious to me that there was no intention to share the report with the McNair family and us before its publication, since from 6:30 tonight they have not yet informed us examine it and claim Jordan's right to privacy before it's published, "said Murphy.
"Since Mr. Brady and the Board of Regents took charge of the investigation, there has been no communication with the family or with us, and we have not attempted to coordinate our review of the report before it's published, "said Murphy. "… This whole thing is cruel and lacks empathy or compassion for the victims here, and instead, there is an orchestration around the interest of the university and of his football program. "
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