UMD Booster Kicked Off Team Flight: Report

COLLEGE PARK, MD -- A University of Maryland booster was kicked off a team trip to Saturday's game at Michigan at the players' request after a report surfaced in which the booster suggested that it was Terrapins' offensive lineman Jordan McNair's own fault for dying over the summer at a practice, according to a report.

ESPN reports that Rick Jaklitsch, an attorney in Upper Marlboro, was scheduled to travel with the Terrapins football team on Friday, but players saw his name on the passenger manifest and "became outraged."

McNair's death during a summer practice session prompted an investigation and eventually led to the placement of coach DJ Durkin on administrative leave over allegations of a toxic culture in the program.

The controversial comments in question were reported Oct. 1 in The Diamondback, the university's student newspaper.

"As much as we hate to say this, Jordan didn't do what Jordan was supposed to do," Jaklitsch told The Diamondback. "A trainer like [Maryland athletic trainer] Wes Robinson thinks a kid's properly hydrated and runs a drill set up for kids that are properly hydrated, and when the kid didn't drink the gallon he knew he had to drink, that's going to send the wrong signal to the person running the drill."

The comments infuriated Maryland players, who reportedly told football administrative staffers that they didn't want Jaklitsch around at all.

Players reported Jaklitsch's expected presence on the flight to school officials, who told Jaklitsch he wouldn't be traveling with other boosters and the team, ESPN reported.

LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 1: James Rosenberry #47 of the Maryland Terrapins, along with the entire team, wear #79 sticker on their helmets in memory of former Terrapin player Jordan McNair who died earlier in the year during a workout, before the start of their game against the Texas Longhorns at FedExField on September 1, 2018 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)