Marty McNair

Can My Child Play? Marty McNair

When the University of Maryland football team began preseason conditioning on May 29th, 2018, sophomore offensive lineman Jordan McNair was excited to start practice. Later that day, he collapsed while running sprints. Within three days, he needed an emergency liver transplant. Then, 15 days after that first practice, Jordan McNair died from complications of a heat-related injury. Jordan's death not only made headlines, but it questioned the culture behind college football and the safety precautions athletic programs take to protect their players. At the forefront of this movement is Jordan's mother, Tonya Wilson, and his father Martin McNair. In his debut memoir, Martin details his journey of raising a child in the world of youth sports, and the harrowing trauma he suffered when his son lost his life doing the thing he loved most-playing football. "Can My Child Play?" is a heart wrenching tale of grief, loss and of a father's determination to protect other young athletes from the preventable injury that took his son's life.