“Air” McNair was one of the greatest Division I-AA college players in history, finishing third in the 1994 Heisman Trophy voting. He went on to play 12 years in the NFL, making three Pro Bowls and splitting the 2003 MVP with Peyton Manning.
In life, Steve McNair was the gritty, much-loved quarterback who led the Tennessee Titans within a yard of a Super Bowl championship. He was widely praised for his devotion to the community, and helped raise some $300,000 for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
In death, he comes across less saintly.
McNair died of multiple gunshot wounds over the weekend in what Nashville police have declared a homicide, and his legacy is far from certain. He was found dead in a Nashville condo Saturday, shot twice in the head and twice in the chest.
The 36-year-old former MVP’s 20-year-old mistress, Sahel Kazemi, was found near him, dead of a single gunshot wound from the same pistol. Police have not called it a murder-suicide, but are not searching for suspects.
His wife reportedly never knew about the affair, and photos of McNair and Kazemi together had already hit the Web over the weekend.
Two days before the shootings, Kazemi was arrested for DUI while driving a 2007 Cadillac Escalade that was registered to her and McNair. He was in the car at the time, but left in a taxi.