[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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