Press Kit

SPEAKER • AUTHOR • THOUGHT LEADER • ADVOCATE
Speaker & Media Kit

Turning lived experience into powerful lessons on leadership, trust, accountability, prevention, and the courage to act.

Marty McNair is an author, thought leader, motivational speaker, advocate, and founder of The Jordan McNair Foundation.

Following the preventable death of his son, Jordan McNair, during a University of Maryland football practice, Marty transformed unimaginable loss into a national mission centered on education, prevention, accountability, leadership, and empowering people to act before a crisis occurs.

His work began in student-athlete safety but has grown into a broader conversation about leadership, organizational culture, trust, accountability, self-advocacy, and what happens when small failures are allowed to align.

Through national speaking engagements, organizational training, advocacy, and storytelling, Marty challenges leaders and organizations to examine their systems, strengthen their cultures, build trust, and give people the courage to speak up before preventable failures become crises.

Marty is also the author of Can My Child Play? The Questions We Should Have Asked and The 5th Quarter: A Parent’s Guide to Preparing Student-Athletes for Life Beyond the Game, extending his work into practical education for student-athletes and families.

Marty’s advocacy and Jordan’s story have received national attention through ESPN, HBO Real Sports, CNN, Good Morning America, NPR, and SportsCenter.

SIGNATURE SPEAKING TOPICS
WHEN THE HOLES ALIGN

How Culture, Leadership, and Small Failures Become a Crisis

Using the Swiss Cheese Model and the lessons surrounding the preventable death of his son, Jordan McNair, Marty demonstrates how serious organizational failures rarely begin with one catastrophic mistake. They occur when gaps in communication, preparation, culture, leadership, and accountability align. Audiences learn how to recognize those gaps earlier, strengthen systems, and create cultures where people are empowered to act before an incident becomes a crisis.

BUILDING TRUST BEFORE THE CRISIS

Leadership, Culture, and the Courage to Speak Up

Trust isn’t built when everything goes right. It is revealed when something goes wrong. Marty explores how leaders create environments where people feel safe raising concerns, challenging assumptions, and taking action. Audiences examine the connection between psychological safety, accountability, communication, and organizational trust.

FROM PAIN TO PURPOSE

Turning Adversity Into Action, Leadership, and Impact

Marty shares the deeply personal journey of transforming the loss of his son into a national movement for education and prevention. This presentation explores resilience, forgiveness, purpose, leadership, and what it means to move forward without forgetting what brought you there.

SELECTED SPEAKING & CONFERENCE EXPERIENCE

•  National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS) National Conference — Keynote Speaker
• WellSpan Game Changers Sports Medicine Conference — Keynote Speaker
• Black Student Athlete Summit
• National Council of Youth Sports / National Conferences
• TEAMS Conference
• Maryland Recreation & Parks Association
• National presentations and training for universities, athletic organizations, schools, municipalities, youth-sports organizations, and professional audiences
  
  WHAT LEADERS SAY
  Michael Locksley
  “Marty McNair has an extraordinary ability to turn personal experience into a message that challenges people to think differently about leadership, accountability, trust, and responsibility. His authenticity connects with audiences, but it’s his ability to turn that connection into meaningful lessons and action that makes his voice so impactful.”
  Michael Locksley
  Head Football Coach, University of Maryland
  Founder, National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches
  
  “The relatability to the student-athletes and the engagement with the entire audience kept everyone intentionally focused. The session provided pertinent information for navigating heat injuries and guided parents on the questions to ask as their child prepares for college athletics.”
  Rob Dicks
  President, Georgia Athletic Trainers Association (GATA)
  Head Athletic Trainer, Callaway High School
  
  BOOKS & EDUCATIONAL WORK
  Marty McNair’s work extends beyond the stage into practical resources designed to help families, student-athletes, and organizations make better decisions before a crisis occurs.
  Can My Child Play? The Questions We Should Have Asked
  Drawing from the lessons surrounding Jordan McNair’s story, Marty equips parents and families with the questions they should be asking about safety, preparation, emergency response, and the systems responsible for protecting student-athletes.
  The 5th Quarter: A Parent’s Guide to Preparing Student-Athletes for Life Beyond the Game
  A practical guide for preparing student-athletes and their families for what happens beyond competition. The book addresses self-advocacy, mental wellness, financial and legal readiness, recruiting, personal responsibility, and the transition from athletics into adulthood.
  Educational Programs & Training
  Through The Jordan McNair Foundation, Marty’s work also includes student-athlete development, parent education, coach and organizational safety training, and leadership education focused on prevention, accountability, trust, and creating cultures where people have the knowledge—and courage—to act.

SUGGESTED INTERVIEW & DISCUSSION TOPICS

When the Holes Align — How culture, communication, leadership, and small organizational failures can accumulate until they become a crisis.

Building Trust Before the Crisis — Why psychological safety, accountability, and the courage to speak up are essential to strong organizations.

From Pain to Purpose — Transforming tragedy, adversity, and loss into meaningful action and lasting impact.

Student-Athlete Safety & Self-Advocacy — What athletes and families need to know, what questions they should ask, and why speaking up can save lives.

The 5th Quarter — Preparing student-athletes for life beyond competition through mental wellness, financial and legal readiness, self-advocacy, and personal responsibility.

Leadership & Organizational Accountability — What Jordan McNair’s story teaches leaders about responsibility, culture, prevention, and acting before a crisis occurs.

SAMPLE Q&A

What is the central message behind your work?

 My work is really about what happens before the crisis. Whether we’re talking about sports, workplaces, schools, or organizations, major failures rarely happen because of one mistake. There are usually warning signs, gaps in communication, cultural issues, or missed opportunities to act. My goal is to help people recognize those gaps earlier and have the courage to do something about them.

What do you mean by “When the Holes Align”?

 It comes from the Swiss Cheese Model. Every organization has safeguards, but every safeguard also has vulnerabilities. When enough of those weaknesses line up—communication breaks down, preparation is inadequate, people are afraid to speak up, or leadership fails to respond—a preventable incident can become a crisis. Jordan’s story gives me a very personal and practical way to teach that lesson.

Why is trust such an important part of your message?

 Because policies don’t protect people by themselves. People have to trust that they can raise a concern, question a decision, admit a mistake, or ask for help without fear. Leaders build trust before the crisis by creating a culture where speaking up is expected rather than punished.

How did you turn the loss of Jordan into purpose?

 Purpose didn’t erase the pain. It gave me somewhere meaningful to put it. I realized there were lessons from Jordan’s life and death that could help another athlete, parent, coach, leader, or organization make a different decision. Education and prevention became a way to make sure his story continues to protect other people.

What should audiences walk away with after hearing you speak?

 I want people to leave asking themselves, Where are the holes in our organization, and what can I do before they align? Awareness matters, but action is what prevents the next crisis.

SELECTED SPEAKING & CONFERENCE EXPERIENCE

• National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS) National Conference — Keynote Speaker
• WellSpan Game Changers Sports Medicine Conference — Keynote Speaker
• Black Student Athlete Summit
• National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches
• ACSA NIL Symposium — NFL Combine
• National Council of Youth Sports / National Conferences
• TEAMS Conference
• Maryland Recreation & Parks Association
• NIL symposiums, athlete-development forums, and collegiate sports platforms nationwide
• Schools, universities, athletic programs, parent organizations, municipalities, and professional audiences nationwide
  
  POLICY, LEGISLATION & ATHLETE ADVOCACY
  
  Marty McNair’s advocacy extends beyond speaking and education into public policy and systemic change. In Maryland, Marty has worked to advance four major pieces of student-athlete legislation now in effect, helping bring the voices and experiences of athletes and families into conversations about safety, accountability, athlete rights, and institutional responsibility.
  
  His legislative work includes the Jordan McNair Safe and Fair Play Act, Maryland legislation bearing Jordan’s name that addresses Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) rights and student-athlete protections.
  
  This firsthand policy experience gives Marty a distinctive perspective on NIL and the changing landscape of college athletics. His message goes beyond compensation to address athlete rights, legal and financial readiness, health and safety, self-advocacy, institutional accountability, and preparation for life beyond sports.
  
  MEDIA & NATIONAL EXPOSURE
  
   Marty McNair’s advocacy, leadership, and Jordan’s story have received national media attention through ESPN, HBO Real Sports, CNN, Good Morning America, NPR, and SportsCenter.
  
  Marty and his family’s story is featured in ESPN’s Outside the Lines: Jordan McNair — The Freedom Within, a powerful examination of Jordan McNair’s story, accountability, forgiveness, reconciliation, and the journey forward. The program was nominated for a 2024 Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Long Feature.
  
  Through national television, documentary storytelling, interviews, podcasts, and live appearances, Marty brings lived experience into conversations about student-athlete safety, leadership, organizational accountability, trust, forgiveness, NIL, athlete rights, and turning pain into purpose.