Steve McNair, nicknamed Air McNair, was an American football quarterback, best known for his years with the Tennessee Titans. A beloved player by colleagues and fans alike, the news of his recent death, an apparent murder-suicide, came in stark contrast to his public character. In his field, as a quarterback, Steve McNair was nothing short of brilliant. He was best-known for playing through many injuries, winning the “Most Valuable Player” award and would make just about any professional American football experts top 10 list of best quarterbacks ever.
Steve McNair grew up in Mount Olive, Miss., and became a football star at Alcorn State, a historically African-American college in Mississippi and a Division I-AA school where he dominated the Southwestern Athletic Conference. During his time at Alcorn State, he became a Heisman Trophy contender, which is a prestigious award given out annually by the Heisman Trophy Trust to the most outstanding player in college football. At this time fans dubbed McNair as "Air McNair." In addition, McNair won another prestigious award, the Walter Payton Award, which is given out annually to the most outstanding offensive player in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision of college football.
In his professional football career, Steve McNair led the Tennessee Titans to the 2000 Super Bowl, which they lost 23-16 to the St. Louis Rams despite his astounding 87-yard drive in the final minute and a half. Other career highlights include holding the Division I-AA records for career yards passing (14,496) and total offense (16,823), according to Sports Illustrated magazine. McNair was drafted in 1995 by the Houston Oilers, the team that eventually became the Tennessee Titans. Picked four times for the Pro Bowl, McNair finished with 31,304 yards passing and 174 touchdowns. Sports magazines like Sports Illustrated, ESPN the magazine, the Sporting News and more often ran feature stories on the athlete. In 2007, injuries finally led to his retirement after the football season.
After his retirement from football, Steve McNair, along with his brother-in-law, were arrested for driving under the influence but the charges were later dropped. Despite this brush with the law, Steve McNair continued to enjoy a positive public reputation of hardworking, philanthropic family man. He was passionate about charity work he did through his foundation and resided in an affluent neighborhood in Nashville, TN with his wife Mechelle and four sons.
On July 4, 2009, McNair was found dead of multiple gunshot wounds along with a female victim, 20-year-old Iranian American Sahel Kazemi, who was found dead of a single gunshot wound, in downtown Nashville. The Nashville police declared McNair's death a homicide on July 5, but did not reach a conclusion about the death of Kazemi, though many suspect a murder-suicide. Many magazines and sports writers, including those from USA Today, ESPN the magazine, Sporting News, TV Guide and Sports Illustrated urged fans to remember the talented athlete for his positive contributions to society, not his violent and untimely death that revealed a complicated life. For more sports magazines, visit http://www.magazines.com/category/sports.
Jessica Vandelay is a freelance writer in New York City.
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