The University System of Maryland Board of Regents on Friday will announce the findings of an investigation into the death of Maryland offensive lineman Jordan McNair.
However, it has not told McNair's parents about the status of the report nor given them a chance to redact any private health information, according to a letter sent Thursday from the family attorney to board chairman James T. Brady.
The USM board will hold its regularly scheduled meeting at 9 a.m. ET on Friday at Towson University and will enter a closed session during which members will be briefed by Rod Walters, a nationally recognized sports medicine consultant. Maryland hired Walters to determine whether the football staff followed proper protocol on May 29, when the 19-year-old McNair suffered heatstroke at a workout. He died two weeks later, on June 13, from heatstroke.
The law firm Murphy, Falcon & Murphy wrote in a letter, obtained by ESPN, that McNair's parents didn't know the report would be released Friday until learning about it through the media.
"Jordan's parents do not want to learn the details about what happened to their son by watching television tomorrow and seeing a press conference," wrote Hassan Murphy, a managing partner at the law firm.
Murphy pointed out in the letter that "the family has the right to review the report and insist on redaction of any material that would violate Jordan's privacy rights or violate federal state health privacy laws."
Murphy requested the report be given to the attorneys and the family before it is released to the public and cautioned any premature release could "subject the university and those responsible for the such release to serious civil and criminal liability."
Later Thursday, USM issued a statement saying it does plan to share the findings with the McNair family, but it did not specify when.
"The University System of Maryland Board of Regents is committed to finding the facts related to the circumstances of Jordan McNair's tragic death," the statement read. "As part of that effort, the board assumed control of an investigation being undertaken by Dr. Rod Walters. Dr. Walters is expect to brief the board on his findings Friday afternoon. The board has neither received the report nor learned of its contents.
"The board sympathizes deeply with the concerns expressed in the letter today and does not intend to share Mr. McNair's medical information publicly. The board does, however, intend to share the report with Mr. McNair's family. The Office of the Attorney General has reached out to the McNair family's representatives to assure them of those facts and to discuss ways to accommodate their concerns while maintaining the board's commitment to transparency."
The Office of the Attorney General did not immediately return an email seeking comment.
In a telephone interview with ESPN on Thursday, Murphy said Martin McNair and Tonya Wilson, Jordan's parents, are "disappointed and angry."
"It is obvious to me that there was no intention to share the report to the McNair family and us prior to its release, given that as of 6:30 tonight they have yet to inform us whether or not they will give us an opportunity to review it and assert Jordan's privacy rights before it's released," Murphy said.
"Since Mr. Brady and the Board of Regents took over the investigation, there has been no communication with the family or with us, and there was no attempt to coordinate our review of the report prior to its intended release," Murphy said. "... This whole thing is cruel and lacking any empathy or compassion for the victims here, and instead reeks of orchestration around the interest of the university and its football program."