Jordan McNair Foundation clinic educates student athletes on dangers of heat-related injuries

Dozens of student athletes and their parents put their skills and knowledge to the test, joining the Jordan McNair Foundation at its 6th Annual Youth Sports Clinic at McDonogh School in Owings Mills. 

The annual clinic is held in honor of McDonogh alum and Maryland Terrapins football player Jordan McNair, who died of complications from a heat-related illness in 2018.

Educating athletes about heat-related safety

The Jordan McNair Foundation is a nonprofit founded by Marty McNair and Tonya Wilson. 

Their family and team work to educate student athletes, parents, and the football community on the signs and symptoms of heatstroke and heat-related illnesses.

"When I heard about it, it really impacted me, because as a child, I always wanted to play football," said clinic participant Matthew Tees. "When I was older, I always dreamed about playing in high school under the lights."

"One of the things that we focus on with our sports clinic is not only a day to bring the youth out to have fun, but our goal really is to educate parents," said Marty McNair. "Because most of the time, parents think coaches are medical professionals, and they're not."

Marty and Tonya's son Jordan McNair died in 2018 from complications of a heat-related injury during a practice at the University of Maryland. 

"As a parent, we didn't know any of these things," Marty McNair said. "I didn't know anything about a heat-related injury, what it was, what the potential of it could be."  

Marty McNair and Tonya Wilson started the Jordan McNair Foundation to inform student athletes and parents about safety in extreme heat.

"We talk about the emphasis of a good emergency action plan. Because without any of this, if you don't have an emergency action plan in place and practice," Marty McNair said.

Learning about hydration

High school football players CJ Davis and Matthew Tees know what it takes to be a student-athlete and do it safely.

"Just keep working because you're not everybody, and everybody has their own path and their own pace they can set," Davis said.

It's thanks to their parents, coaches, and organizations like the Jordan McNair Foundation that they know how to beat the heat on the football field.

"When I was younger I came to one of these clinics, and it kind of like really impacted me, because my mom, she was, she was always a team mom. She always made sure everybody was hydrated," Davis said. 

Lawmakers inspired by Jordan McNair Foundation

Their work inspired the Jordan McNair Student Athlete Heat Fatality Prevention Act. U.S. Senators Angela Alsobrooks and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and U.S. Congressman Kweisi Mfume (MD-07)  introduced the bill to Congress in July. 

It includes protections for college and high school athletic programs.