Former Blue Devil Braxton Deaver Rips Maryland Football, College Football Culture In General

Former Duke tight end Braxton Deaver posted a bunch of stuff on Twitter that discussed his feelings about what happened at Maryland and college football culture in general.

If you missed it, a Maryland football player named Jordan McNair died in June of heatstroke and in the aftermath, Maryland football and coach DJ Durkin have received immense criticism. Durkin is currently on leave while Maryland investigates his program.

It’s the biggest scandal at College Park since Len Bias died. ESPN has been looking and is not impressed, calling the culture “toxic,” and University president Wallace Loh has said that Maryland accepts responsibility for McNair’s death and says the school must accept “moral responsibility.”

To his credit, he went to the McNair’s house and spoke to his parents personally. That can’t have been easy but it was the right thing to do.

However, as Doug Lesmerises points out over at Cleveland.com, Maryland is partly in this situation because the university made the decision to chase money with the Big Ten and that the Big Ten, in general, is paying a price for their immense financial success. It’s worth remembering that Loh was so determined to take Maryland to the Big Ten that he broke Maryland law to do it (he was not allowed to hold private discussions about public business).

Not that the ACC isn’t paying a price too.

You can look at UNC or Louisville for the extremes but other schools have had issues too: Georgia Tech, Florida State and Syracuse spring to mind.

In Deaver’s column, it is nice to read what he says about Duke football, according to the N&O: “He said Duke’s culture was one of togetherness so that what occurred at Maryland wouldn’t happen in Durham. If a teammate fell out in a conditioning drill, like McNair did at Maryland, Deaver said every player would run to his aid. That stemmed from Duke coach David Cutcliffe, who Deaver said he sees as ‘a second father’ because he pushed him hard but did so with care in mind.”

• There are 2 investigations into Maryland football. Here’s what you need to know about each.
• State’s attorney’s office is closely watching the University of Maryland football scandal
• University of Maryland takes ‘legal and moral responsibility’ for mistakes that led to football player’s death
• Maryland, Ohio State scandals should prompt evaluations throughout college football
• The Tragedy of Maryland Football Is a Symptom of College Football’s Rotten Culture