COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Senior football player Ellis McKennie had tweeted Friday that the NCAA said he couldn't share the flyer promoting the fundraiser at Chipotle for his friend's foundation.
The Association later approved a different flyer that McKennie posted to Twitter.
Nearly a year after Maryland offensive lineman Jordan McNair died of complications from a heatstroke, his teammates helped put together their first big fundraiser Sunday for his namesake foundation.
However, when teammate and friend Ellis McKennie tried to promote it, the NCAA said he couldn't post the Chipotle flyer.
So McKennie tweeted about his frustrations:
According to NCAA rules, student athletes are only allowed to promote fundraisers that give 100% of the proceeds to charity and don't feature a co-sponsor (Chipotle, in this case).
“We’ve been planning this for a while, and it just felt like we had some silly road blocks in the way that didn’t need to be there, some things that were just foolish and old and archaic rules that we could avoid, and we were doing it for a good cause and something we believe so strongly in, so I couldn’t go without saying something about it," said McKennie.
The Association later worked with the university's compliance office to approve this flyer.
Despite, or perhaps because of the NCAA's push back and the resulting social media buzz, hundreds showed up Sunday evening to support the foundation.
"His passing hurt us really hard, hurt every single one of us on the team…we still think about him every day, and so being able to do something like this was really important for us...[and] this response from the community has been incredible," said McKennie.
Freshman volleyball player Rainelle Jones only spoke with McNair a few times over the phone, as he encouraged her to sign with the University of Maryland.
However, those few phone calls made an impact and pushed her to stand in the line that reached out the door.
A third of the proceeds go to the Jordan McNair foundation, which his parents started to raise money for athletes suffering from heat-related injuries and illnesses.
“At the end of the day, this is our friend who passed away, and we’re trying to raise money for his foundation and his memory," said sophomore football player, Jack Wagman.
UMD Senior Tyler Richman says even though he didn't know McNair personally, he can feel his impact at every game.
“No one’s ever going to forget about Jordan McNair, and that’s something that’s really important to us," said McKennie.