Parent of Maryland football player penned a letter to the university president warning of DJ Durkin's behavior in 2016

A new report from The Washington Post says that a parent of a former Maryland football player penned a letter in 2016 to University President Wallace Loh, warning him of head coach D.J. Durkin’s behavior.

The parent, who remained anonymous, said she sent a letter to school officials in December 2016 to warn about “abusive behavior” within the football program. The letter was sent a year-and-a-half before Jordan McNair died from heatstroke.

Per The Washington Post, the parent hand-delivered the letter to Loh and emailed other school officials, including then-athletic director Kevin Anderson. Members of the medical team and compliance office were also emailed.

From the letter, per The Washington Post:

“The fact that he allows his coaches to psychologically, physically, and emotionally abuse the athletes is paving the way for a multi-million dollar civil lawsuit against the school and the coaches, alleging assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress.”

“Are any of you aware or do you even care about the number of student athletes suffering from severe emotional distress because of the abusive actions of Coach Durkin? His actions are extreme and outrageous; intentional and reckless, and the sole cause of the emotional distress.”

Durkin has been on administrative leave since Aug. 11, and the football program is being investigated for a “toxic culture.” The probe is expected to conclude as early as this week.

The investigation team assigned to the case has interviewed several current and former Maryland players, parents and staff members. The exact number of willing candidates was unknown.

Over 175 athletes have spent time under Durkin, who arrived in Maryland ahead of the 2016 season.

While Durkin has been on administrative leave, offensive coordinator Matt Canada has taken over head coaching duties on an interim basis.