Steve McNair’s shooting death a homicide
July 6, 2009 by AlumniUnit ©2010
The death of former NFL quarterback Steve McNair this weekend was a homicide, Nashville police said Sunday, adding it could be days before they will be able to classify the death of the woman found in the same condominium with a pistol underneath her body.
McNair was shot four times — twice in the chest and twice in the head, according to police. Sahel Kazemi, 20, had a single gunshot wound to the side of her head. Police said they have been told that McNair, who is married, was dating Kazemi.
A native of Mount Olive, Miss., McNair played quarterback and defensive back in high school and was recruited by a number of major universities; he made visits to Miami, Louisiana State and Mississippi State.
Standing in front of his mother’s modest home one afternoon in 1994, McNair talked about why he chose Alcorn State, a Division I-AA program, over the larger, more prestigious football powers. McNair was a rarity: a big-time talent who chose a historically black university. He said that when he told recruiters he was considering Alcorn, some degraded the university because it was predominantly black.
McNair wanted to be groomed as a classic drop-back passer, and even then, he was confident about why he would succeed in the N.F.L.
“You have a lot of fragile quarterbacks now,” he said at the time. “I think the NFL is looking for a type of quarterback who can take licks, stand in there, but who can scramble as well and put pressure on the defense.”
Asked if he had ever second-guessed his decision, McNair said not for a second.
“I just remember something my high school basketball coach always used to say: ‘No matter what school you go to, Division I or I-AA, it’s what you do when you get there that counts,’ ” McNair said. “If you show your ability and do the best you can, pro scouts will find you, no matter where you are.”
Fans remember the player
For decades, Nashville sports fans have sounded off on radio shows hosted by George Plaster, and they did so again Saturday as word of McNair’s slaying spread. What made it different for Plaster was that from his studio he could see crowds gathered outside the building where McNair’s body was found.
“I could have thrown a football from our studio to where it actually happened,” Plaster said. “During commercials, I could go to the window and see what was going on. It was eerie.”
Mourning fans passed by the condominium building in a steady stream, Plaster said, as about 25 police officers guarded the scene. The area was particularly congested because fireworks were scheduled nearby and crowds were gathering around the Cumberland River.
“Nobody was saying anything,” Plaster said. “For what was supposed to be a celebration, it felt like a funeral.”
While taking calls from his audience, Plaster said, there was virtually no reference to McNair having an affair. “Everybody had a version of the same story — that I met Steve McNair, I was nervous and before I knew it we started laughing and it was like we were friends forever,” Plaster said. “There have been a lot of people in this community who have been touched by good things he’s done. … What always struck me about him was it didn’t matter if you were the king of England or a janitor, he treated everybody the same.”
Donna Doss, 44, an interior designer in Nashville and a Titans season ticketholder since 1999, has a helmet McNair autographed at a party where, she said, “He was only paying attention to his wife.”
“I will always love him. He was a warrior, and he always gave us 110%,” Doss said of McNair, who played nine years in Tennessee after the Houston Oilers moved.
As for the infidelity question, Doss said, “I am definitely disappointed in him. I just thought he would be different than others. I was really shocked to find out he had a girlfriend, especially one so young.”
Although McNair’s life had a scandalous final chapter, Titans fans seemed determined to remember him mainly for what he did on Sunday afternoons.
“I think that whatever they find out, people will still remember what he stood for on the field,” said season ticketholder Jackie Tune, who was with friends on the Tennessee River when the news broke.
McNair’s charitable and community efforts were considerable. He helped fund Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, had an annual turkey giveaway at Thanksgiving through his foundation and hosted football camps in Nashville and his native Mississippi.
His Steve McNair Foundation provides financial assistance to Boys and Girls Clubs in Mississippi and Tennessee, and his community programs were a factor in him being selected the Nashville Sports Council’s Sports Person of the Year for 2001-03.
Saturday and Sunday, many fans left flowers, notes and cards outside the Steve McNair’s Gridiron9 restaurant, which opened recently in Nashville, near Tennessee State University.
But perhaps what McNair will be remembered for most is his unflinching performance on the football field. He passed for more than 30,000 yards in a 13-year NFL career that ended with two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens (2006-07). His passing proficiency earned him the nickname “Air McNair” and helped him set NCAA yardage records, but he also had a reputation as a daring runner who willingly took on tacklers and who was big and tough enough to play linebacker.
“Steve was an absolute warrior as a player and brought that mind-set to the team,” former Titans safety Blaine Bishop said. “Whether he was hurt or not, he was going to give us everything he had. He was the toughest player that I ever played with … and a great man off the field … a good country boy who was always laughing and smiling.”
Titans backup quarterback Vince Young was mentored by McNair, whom Young called “Pops” because of the father-son nature of their relationship.
“I’m still in shock since hearing the news,” Young said in a statement released by the team. “Since I was a teenager, he was like a father to me. I hear his advice in my head with everything I do. Life will be very different without him.”
A nurse at home
McNair met his wife at Alcorn State, where McNair finished third in Heisman Trophy voting his senior year. Despite having a millionaire husband, Mechelle earned a nursing degree at Belmont University in Nashville and put her studies to work on him.
During his NFL career, she wrapped his ankles, knees and ribs and gained expertise about turf toe.
“When I’m achy, she helps me a lot,” McNair said in 2003. “It’s been a good investment, and it will last a lifetime.”
At the time, Mechelle told USA TODAY she was determined to have a career option despite her husband’s success.
“Nothing is ever guaranteed in life,” she said then. “If I have to go out and work and put my skills to work, I can. There’s no guarantee that Steve and I are going to be together forever.”
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