The Houston Chronicle notes:
WTVF in Nashville is reporting on their Web site that former Tennesee Titans quarterback Steve McNair has been killed.
Police said McNair suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head in downtown Nashville.
WTVF reported the incident happened at 2nd South & Lea Ave. in Nashville.
Police said it looked like a double homicide. A female victim was also found dead.
Fox Sports adds:
Former NFL quarterback Steve McNair was found shot to death Saturday, multiple media outlets reported.
A woman was also found shot to death with McNair in a Nashville condominium.
A public information officer with the Nashville police, Don Aaron, confirmed the death.
McNair played 11 seasons in the NFL with the Tennessee Titans franchise and then spent two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens.
He was a three-time Pro Bowler and was the Co-AP NFL MVP in 2003.
From Nashville’s WKRN:
The former Titans star was found shot to death at an apartment complex on Second Avenue South at Lea Avenue, in downtown Nashville.
A second person was also found dead.
That person’s identity was not immediately known.
Investigators are on the scene Saturday afternoon.
No further details were released.
McNair played 13 seasons in the NFL before retiring in April 2008.
He played college football at Alcorn State and was drafted by the Houston Oilers, third overall, in the 1995 NFL Draft.
McNair played 11 seasons with the Titans franchise, leading the team to the Super Bowl in 1999.
He played his final two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens.
McNair was selected to the Pro Bowl three times and was the co-MVP of the league in 2003, sharing the award with Peyton Manning.
He was 36 years old.
Toni Monkovic of the New York Times adds:
A television station in Nashville is reporting that the former N.F.L quarterback Steve McNair has been killed in downtown Nashville in what the police said looked like a double homicide. A woman was the other person killed, the police said.
The station, WTVF, said McNair sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the head:
According to Don Aaron with the Metro Nashville Police Department, no suspects have been taken into custody. Several people were being taken to police headquarters for questioning.
McNair was one of his era’s best quarterbacks and one of its toughest players, playing through countless injuries. He led the Titans to the Super Bowl in 2000 and announced his retirement in 2008 after a 13-year career. He was 36.
We’ll have more details as they come in.
This is hard news to digest, but feel free share your thoughts on the player and the man.
USA Today notes that “Nashville police are confirming reports that former Titans and Ravens QB Steve McNair has been killed”:
McNair, 36, and a female were found shot to death, spokesman Don Aaron told reporters this afternoon.
No one is yet in custody and Aaron said he could not give details on what time the victims died.
Titans owner Bud Adams released the following statement:
“We are saddened and shocked to hear the news of Steve McNair’s passing today. He was one of the finest players to play for our organization and one of the most beloved players by our fans. He played with unquestioned heart and leadership and led us to places that we had never reached, including our only Super Bowl. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family as they deal with his untimely passing.”
Donald Sensing has video of Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron’s statement on his blog. Click here to watch.
Don Surber has a round-up of links and notes that “McNair had only recently opened the Gridiron9 restaurant on Jefferson Street in Nashville, the Tennessean reported.”
Update (10:50 PM PDT): More details on this story have emerged, as AP notes:
Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron identified the woman as 20-year-old Sahel Kazemi, whom he called a “friend” of McNair’s. She had a single gunshot wound to the head.
Police said the 36-year-old McNair was found on the sofa in the living room, and Kazemi was very close to him on the floor. Aaron said the gun was not “readily apparent” when police first arrived.
Autopsies were planned for Sunday.
Aaron said McNair’s wife, Mechelle, is “very distraught.”
“At this juncture, we do not believe she is involved,” he said. “Nothing has been ruled out, but as far as actively looking for a suspect tonight, the answer would be no.”
Fred McNair, Steve McNair’s oldest brother, said some family members likely will travel to Nashville on Monday to consult with Steve McNair’s wife.
“It’s still kind of hard to believe,” Fred McNair said. “He was the greatest person in the world. He gave back to the community. He loved kids and he wanted to be a role model to kids.”
He said he did not know who Kazemi was.
The bodies were discovered Saturday afternoon by McNair’s longtime friend, Wayne Neeley, who said he rents the condo with McNair.
Aaron said Neeley told authorities he went into the condo, saw McNair on the sofa and Kazemi on the floor but walked first into the kitchen before going back into the living room, where he saw the blood.
Neeley then called a friend, who alerted authorities.
Police said a witness saw McNair arrive at the condo in the upscale Rutledge Hill neighborhood between 1:30 and 2 a.m. Saturday and that Kazemi’s vehicle was already there. The condominium is located within walking distance of an area filled with restaurants and nightspots, a few blocks from the Cumberland River and within view of the Titans’ stadium.
Two days ago, Nashville police arrested Kazemi on a DUI charge while driving a 2007 Escalade registered to her and McNair. McNair was in the front seat, but didn’t break the law and was allowed to leave by taxi.
The arrest affidavit said Kazemi had bloodshot eyes and the smell of alcohol on her breath, but refused a breathalyzer test, saying “she was not drunk, she was high.”
In June, McNair opened a restaurant near the Tennessee State University campus. It was closed Saturday evening, but had become a small memorial, where flowers, candles and notes had been placed outside the door.
On the restaurant’s windows were messages: “We will miss you Steve” and “We love you Steve.”
A note attached to a small blue teddy bear read, “We will never forget you, Steve. Once a Titan, always a Titan.”
“We don’t know the details, but it is a terrible tragedy and our hearts go out to the families involved,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.
And Breitbart.TV has this video from WSMV in Nashville:
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30 Comments
1. Pajamas Media » Former NFL QB Steve McNair Reportedly Killed:[...] Click here for details. [...]
Jul 4, 2009 - 2:22 pm 2. Donald Sensing:I have posted the video of police spokesman Don Aaron’s atatement on my blog. It’s here.
Jul 4, 2009 - 2:30 pm 3. David Thomson:The interesting thing is that nobody realistically suspects Steve McNair was murdered by white racists. No, it is overwhelmingly likely he was shot by another black man.
Jul 4, 2009 - 2:51 pm 4. Steven Den Beste:White people rarely commit illegal violent acts against people of color. This is a major reason why the very concept of “hate crimes” is utterly ridiculous.
I wonder if this will turn out to be the classic “jealous husband”.
(By the way, Mr. Stanley is a spammer.)
Jul 4, 2009 - 3:37 pm 5. Ed Driscoll:Steve,
Thanks — Mr. Stanley just went the way of all spam.
Jul 4, 2009 - 4:06 pm 6. Instapundit » Blog Archive » STEVE MCNAIR shot to death in Nashville….:[...] STEVE MCNAIR shot to death in Nashville. [...]
Jul 4, 2009 - 5:36 pm 7. David Thomson:“I wonder if this will turn out to be the classic “jealous husband”.
This is probably what did occur. The woman was not Steve McNair’s wife! It definitely does not appear to be a stranger-on-stranger crime. The murderer is likely to be an enraged and jealous individual. McNair was very very good player, but injuries prevented him from enjoying a Hall of Fame career. He was a tough man able to play through incredible pain.
Jul 4, 2009 - 5:38 pm 8. reliapundit:DOES OJ HAVE A GOOD ALIBI THIS TIME?
Jul 4, 2009 - 6:19 pm 9. Tman:I met Steve several times in Nashville and he was the most down to earth celebrity/athlete I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. He would always have time to shake hands or talk about the game with any fan that he met. I never saw him turn down a handshake or brush someone off if he was in a hurry. I have never met any other celebrity/athlete/entertainer who was even close to as classy and down to earth as Steve was, and we have plenty here in Nashvegas. His charity work in Nashville was nothing short of unrelenting even after the Titans front office stupidly let him go to play in Baltimore. He and Brett Favre sent several semi-trucks of food and water down to the Gulf Shores after Katrina before FEMA even got there, and he recently opened a restaurant in North Nashville hoping to clean up the neighborhood. The guy was basically Nashville’s favorite celebrity.
Sad day here indeed. What a waste.
Jul 4, 2009 - 6:24 pm 10. RM:My money is on murder suicide. Considering he was shot in the head, odds are that he was the one doing the murdering/suciding.
Jul 4, 2009 - 6:32 pm 11. joel:McNair was always a classy player. It is a shame he missed out on the next 40 years of life. This is a shame.
I would hold off on speculation for now.
The lost of MJ was nothing to me. Diana? The golddigger’s last run, is all. Farah F? Well, she had bad health care and died from her personal habits. But this needless death is really sad.
Jul 4, 2009 - 6:59 pm 12. Juvenal:I met Steve several times in Nashville. Always a class act and a nice guy. This is so shocking and sad.
Jul 4, 2009 - 8:08 pm 13. Odysseus:I guess a class act is all relative. He was a married man with a 20 year old girlfriend, with several recent DUIs as well.
Jul 4, 2009 - 9:26 pm 14. Cheryle:Wow! If they’re not looking for a suspect, it’s probably a murder-suicide. Reports say that both of them were pulled over just two days ago with the young lady driving drunk. Sad but this man was married with four boys. Why would he have this woman on the side anyway? The car she drove was in both of their names. I believe the authorities are trying to keep the facts low because of who he is and that he is a married man killed under adulterous circumstances.
Jul 4, 2009 - 9:35 pm 15. Tman:Odysseus,
He had one DUI that was eventually dismissed because the judge ruled that police didn’t have sufficient reason to pull him over. Two other times he was charged while he was in a car that he owned but was not driving, yet was charged with a DUI anyways. I don’t understand how you can get a “driving” under the influence charge if you aren’t “driving”. Welcome to Nashville.
You don’t know anymore about his love life than I do, so hows about a nice cup of shut the hell up and respect a man that did more for others than you could even begin to imagine.
He was a class act, and there are a lot of people who are better off in this world directly thanks to him.
Why don’t you show some class.
Jul 4, 2009 - 9:54 pm 16. Steven Den Beste:Another news report I saw said that he had multiple gunshot wounds, including one to the head. That seems to rule out him being a suicide.
Jul 4, 2009 - 11:01 pm 17. David Thomson:“That seems to rule out him being a suicide.”
Steve McNair was probably a murder victim. She first killed him—and then killed herself. This young lady appears to be an Iranian-American. Could it be that her Muslim background is partly responsible for this tragedy? Did she feel sinful and dirty for her relationship with a black married man? I would suspect that her parents would highly disapprove of her very secular lifestyle. The inter-racial angle is admittedly awkward, but it also cannot be ignored. There is a decent chance that their story will be turned into a movie. Somebody is probably writing a screenplay at this very moment.
Jul 4, 2009 - 11:36 pm 18. Juvenal:Odysseus, when I say he was a class act, I can only go by the few brief interactions I had with him. We all fall short of where we need to be in life, but whatever Steve McNair’s sins were, being a snob, a jerk, a wannabe thug or a primadonna were not among them. He treated his fans and other people he met in public with common decency and respect, and he was a real leader and a professional on the field in an age when so many sports stars make a mockery of leadership and professionalism.
That’s all I meant when I called him a “class act.” I never considered whether he was running around on his wife to be any of my business or particularly relevant to any of my interactions with him, which, like I said, were few and brief.
Jul 5, 2009 - 12:22 am 19. Steven Den Beste:More news reports. She had just a single gunshot wound, to the head.
By the way, I think we serve no good to engage in rampant speculation.
Jul 5, 2009 - 12:27 am 20. David Thomson:“I think we serve no good to engage in rampant speculation.”
Some of us are merely engaging in reasonable speculation. Of course, that’s what I would like to think that I’m doing. Others might disagree. I also do suspect that some individuals are already researching a book and/or starting on a screenplay. Who can play the part of Steve McNair? I may seem a bit ghoulish—but I’m dead serious. A movie will probably be released in less than a year.
Jul 5, 2009 - 12:49 am 21. Steve:Metro police report “Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron identified the woman as 20-year-old Sahel Kazemi, whom he called a “friend” of McNair’s. She had a single gunshot wound to the head.”
McNair had multiple gunshot wounds including one to the head at the time they did not at first find a pistol that was later found close to Kazemi with a single gunshot wound to the head.
Two days ago Kazemi and McNair were driving through Nashville in a 2007 Escalade and Kazemi was arrested for DUI and McNair was allowed to take a taxi home. The vehicle was registered to both McNair and Kazemi.
I am not a police detective but it appears to be murder suicide and is possible that at the moment there are no suspects in this matter.
Jul 5, 2009 - 5:09 am 22. Jabba The Tutt:Honor killing? Brother or Father of Kazemi?
Jul 5, 2009 - 6:40 am 23. CFB:Looks like McNair picked the wrong girl to keep on the side. Maybe she wanted him to hurry up and make an honest woman out of her. He should have stuck to gold-digging skeezers like other professional athletes.
Jul 5, 2009 - 8:42 am 24. ancient monuments » Researchers Discover Remains Of Western Hemisphere’s First Gunshot Victim:[...] Ed Driscoll » Former NFL QB Steve McNair Shot To Death [...]
Jul 5, 2009 - 12:00 pm 25. D. Grant Chee:1) His wife had it done?
Mischelle did it?
Jul 5, 2009 - 1:47 pm 26. crafty:2) Her daddy did it?
3) Her brother did it?
4) She did it?
5) A gay lover did it?
6) A lesbian lover did it?
7) Al Qaeda done it?
9) Rev Wright done it?
10) BHO done it?
11) Louie Fairycan’t ordered it?
12) Who knows who done it?
13) A law enforcer done it?
14) Tha muslim bro Hood done it?
15) Planned unparents in tha hood?
16) They were aborted by allah?
17) Willie Ayers or Dorn killed them?
18) The New black kitty cats did it?
19) A black woman did it?
20) A jealous white woman did it?
21) The butler did it?
22) The liberals done them in?
23) The condo commune assoc hired the hit?
24) Someone did it!
Nashville’s favorite celebrity?? A man that openly commits adultery and dishonors his children and family??? OMG..he should have been in Washington!!!
No tears here. He may have been a good player, but he dishonored his family. the kids will now have to hear about “daddy and the woman in Nashville”..for the rest of their lives. Sad ending
Jul 5, 2009 - 6:46 pm 27. Steven Den Beste:Latest news: McNair was shot four times, twice in the chest and twice in the head. His death has been ruled a murder by the police.
Kazemi was shot once in the head, and a gun was found under her body. Her death hasn’t been categorized yet. They’re doing an autopsy on her to check for the entry angle before making a decision.
But it’s hard to escape the suspicion at this point that either she shot him and then herself, or that someone else tried to make it look that way.
Jul 5, 2009 - 9:04 pm 28. Brutus:My money is on it being the highest profile (so far) honor killing in this country.
Jul 6, 2009 - 9:30 am 29. urbanleftbehind:#28
As the late Ed McMahon would say, you aaah correct, suhh!!!
Jul 6, 2009 - 9:49 am 30. Steven Den Beste:Police have now concluded that she shot him and then shot herself.
Jul 8, 2009 - 5:39 pmSorry, comments for this entry are closed at this time.