[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 187 (Thursday, November 21, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6751-S6752]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO ELLIS McKENNIE
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize an inspiring
young man, Ellis McKennie. I had the good fortune of getting to know
Ellis when he was an intern in my office, first in the summer of 2018
in my State office and then again this past summer in Washington. He
was a diligent worker, always searching for ways to help. He was keen
to take advantage of every opportunity to learn. One thing that became
obvious right away is that Ellis is an empathetic young man; in one
instance, as a youngster, he asked his mother to make lunches for less
fortunate fellow students. I am very grateful to Ellis for his service
to the people of Maryland during his internships and for his service to
the University of Maryland as the epitome of a student athlete. Ellis
has been an offensive lineman on the Terrapins' football team for the
last 4 years. Perhaps more important than his leadership on the field,
though, has been his leadership off the field, where he has advocated
fiercely for meaningful athletic reform in the wake of his boyhood
friend and teammate Jordan McNair's tragic death from heatstroke last
year. Ellis has worked hard to mobilize his teammates and the entire
campus to become more engaged politically. In recognition of his
ability to bring people together for positive change, the student body
elected Ellis to the university senate this year.
Somehow, among Ellis's football career, activism, and student
governance, he has also found time to set an exemplary academic record,
twice earning All-Big Ten academic honors and completing his
undergraduate degree in just 3 years. Now, while he plays his final
season for the Terrapins, he is busy earning a graduate degree in
public policy. Next, Ellis plans to attend law school and hopes to
serve as an elected official 1 day, perhaps here in the Senate.
I have been so impressed by everything that Ellis has been able to
accomplish at such a young age and by everything that he aspires to
achieve in the future. Most of all, I am proud of his enduring
commitment to building community, helping those in need, and fighting
for what's right. Young people like Ellis should reassure all of us
that the future of our country is in capable hands.
On November 20, the Baltimore Sun ran an article by Don Markus
entitled ``Maryland's Ellis McKennie found his voice when Jordan McNair
died. Now he looks to finish his career strong.'' The article captures
the qualities that make Ellis such a special young man. I ask unanimous
consent that the article be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Maryland's Ellis McKennie Found His Voice When Jordan McNair Died. Now
He Looks To Finish His Career Strong.
(By Don Markus)
Ellis McKennie spent his first three years at Maryland as a
nondescript reserve offensive lineman, redshirting his first
season after graduating from McDonogh and serving as a
little-used backup the next two.
It took the death of Jordan McNair--a fellow offensive
lineman who had been more like a little brother since they
grew up on the same street in Randallstown--for McKennie to
find his voice.
It then took McKennie getting a role this season, briefly
as a versatile reserve and then as a starter in seven games
at four positions, to have the platform to use it.
``As someone who's a leader on this team. I feel confident
to express the feelings and attitude of the team,'' McKennie
said last week, sitting in the auditorium of the Gossett Team
House. ``I'm that way to Coach [Mike Locksley], too.
``I'm on the leadership council and I'm one of the guys
coach is asking, `Where do you think the team's at?' I'm that
voice for him and when the media comes asking the same
questions. I'm confident that I can represent the team in a
good way in the public light.''
Going into Saturday's senior day matchup with Nebraska (4-
6, 2-5 Big Ten), McKennie is hoping that he can help Maryland
(3-7, 1-5) end a five-game losing streak.
``I can't stress how important it is for us to beat
Nebraska.'' McKennie said. ``I can still remember singing the
alma mater after the Syracuse game [a 63-20 win on Sept 7]
thinking. `I can't wait to do this some more this season.' If
that's the last time I get to sing the alma mater at Maryland
Stadium, that'll be tough for me to handle. I'm going to do
whatever I can to get this win.''
McKennie's role as a leader for the Terps began to evolve
in the weeks and months after the 19-year-old McNair's death
from heatstroke in June 2018.
It was McKennie and then-sophomore center Johnny Jordan who
were designated to speak when the still-grieving team met
with the media for the first time in late August.
It was McKennie who carried the flag with McNair's jersey
number--79--out for the 2018 season opener at FedEx Field and
waved it after the Terps upset than-No. 23 Texas, 34-29.
It was also McKennie who walked out with a couple of his
teammates from a team meeting after former coach DJ Durkin,
who had been put on administrative leave in the aftermath of
McNair's death, had briefly been reinstated in late October.
Durkin was fired by university President Wallace D. Loh the
following day.
``They say in the face of tragedy that people get closer
together, and that's what happened on this team,'' McKennie
said. ``We lost a brother, but at the same time, when you go
through something like that with a group of people and you
come out the other side, you have a different kind of
relationship with them. That role during that whole time
period just kind of fluidly turned into a leadership role on
the field this season.''
Jodi McKennie wasn't surprised that her middle child became
the de facto team spokesman among the Maryland players.
``From the time he was a little boy, he was the most
empathetic child you could meet,'' she said last week. ``He
could not stand to see anyone he thought was suffering in any
way.''
It meant asking his mother to make extra lunches for other
kids who didn't have food
[[Page S6752]]
at home to bring to school or to have her put money on the
accounts of less fortunate students. At Maryland, it took
shape McNair's death.
The leadership piece took over because he is definitely led
by his moral compass, and that comes from understanding right
from wrong and what happened to Jordan was so hard on him
that he could no longer be quiet,'' Jodi McKennie said.
His father's five-year stint as the boys basketball coach
at Archbishop Curley also had an impact on the younger
McKennie.
``I had a couple of kids who had problems with their family
and he would see Dad get up and go and do things [for the
players],'' the elder McKennie said Monday. ``It was the same
for me. When I got to college, I didn't realize my Dad, who
was a Marine Corps dude, was in my brain. You don't realize
until it has to be shown.''
Recalling when his son walked out on Durkin, the elder
McKennie said his son called him beforehand to tell him of
his intentions.
``I said, `Ellis, before you do anything, do you want to
talk about it?' and he said, `Dad, I got this,' '' the elder
McKennie said.
McKennie doesn't think he would have been any less a leader
this season had he not worked his way up the depth chart and
into a starting role.
``I have a type of rapport with teammates, they know what
I'm about, and that I actually care about this team and this
university,'' McKennie said. ``Whether I'm playing. whether
I'm having a good game or a bad game, whether I'm on scout
team, it wouldn't make a difference, just the type of guy
that I am.''
Said senior defensive tackle Brett Kulka: ``Ellis is great.
He's definitely a leader. You can see that in the locker room
as a whole. He's an encouraging player. He likes to help
younger guys. He understands what it takes to win in terms of
you need everyone on the team. He really embraces that
role.''
It has been more than 17 months since McNair died and
McKennie said it is unlikely that he will ever get over it
completely. He had known McNair since they were kids and
McNair played Little League baseball on a team coached by
McKennie's father.
``You're never going to feel normal. It almost turns into a
new type of normal, it's a new reality you've got to live
it,'' McKennie said. ``I can't lie and say I don't think
about it every day. I get texts from his parents before every
game. . . . You're never going to move on from it.
``I think it was important that when Coach Locks got here,
he had a meeting with a bunch of us and he said, `We can move
on without forgetting Jordan. We can take steps forward, but
we'll not forget where we came from and not forget Jordan in
any sort of way.' ''
Even though the patch of grass at Maryland Stadium with
McNair's number has grown over, McKennie said, ``Internally
we honor him every day. His locker is still in our locker
room. We pray in front of it before every game.''
Four years later, McKennie is only one of three players
remaining from the 19 members of the 2015 recruiting class,
along with linebacker Isaiah Davis and defensive end Keiron
Howard.
``There are less than 10 guys from my class that made it
through their eligibility,'' McKennie said. ``Our class is
extremely interesting because it's been filled with so much
turmoil. A lot of guys didn't finish, but we also had two
first-round draft picks, DJ Moore and Darnell Savage. So it's
like a pretty big spectrum. I've been the only offensive
lineman left for two years.''
Locksley said Tuesday that the person and player he helped
recruit to Maryland while serving as the team's offensive
coordinator has grown tremendously in the past five years.
``He's a guy that's been directly affected with the three
full-time coaches, two interims, the loss of a former high
school teammate [and] dear friend, and this kid continues to
stand strong.'' Locksley said at his Tuesday news conference,
where he announced that McKennie and three other seniors
would serve as captains for Saturday's game.
``He's one of the guys you can sell the University of
Maryland with. He's the epitome of a student-athlete. He's a
guy that has the right kind of habits and behaviors, where
he's going to be really successful on the field and off the
field. Really I can't say enough great things about the
leadership that he's provided, not just for the players, but
even to me as the head coach. He's the epitome of what a
Maryland player should look like.''
For much of his career, McKennie focused ``pretty heavily''
on the front half of his hyphenated position as a student-
athlete, graduating in three years with a degree in
government and politics and then working on his master's
degree in public policy, which he will finish in the coming
weeks as he gets ready to start studying for his LSATs and a
career as a lawyer or politician.
``We used to joke that he would be the first black
president and then we had [Barack] Obama so now we're banking
on him being the second black president,'' his mother said.
Even with what he has accomplished off the field--twice
earning All-Big Ten academic honors, being elected to the
university senate during the 2019-20 academic year, interning
for U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Maryland) last summer--McKennie
thinks of himself mostly as a Maryland football player.
``That's what I do every day,'' he said. ``There hasn't
been a day in the past five years when I haven't come to this
building aside from a few holidays. It's going to be a weird
change. I'm looking forward to what's next for me, but I'm
definitely going to miss everything that has come about. I'm
starting to appreciate things differently now. I'm going to
practice not dreading practice anymore. I'm happy to be there
with my teammates.''
Unlike many of his former teammates who left long before
their eligibility expired or moved on the moment they played
their final game, McKennie said there will always be an
attachment.
``I love this university and I love what it means to be a
Terrapin.'' McKennie said. ``It means so much more to me than
just playing on Saturday. If it was about playing time, I
still wouldn't be here. I should have gone somewhere else and
played a little bit sooner. It means so much to me to
represent this university and represent this state that I've
called home for most of my life, that's the most important
part to me.''
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