Latest updates below –
To me, Steve McNair did what he was supposed to do. He stayed out of trouble. As everybody knows, he played football for the Tennessee Titans. He was strong. He was tough. He learned the game. Today, when so many athletes can’t wait to get in front of a microphone and tell you how great they are, Steve McNair seem to be different. He was inches away from greatness. Winning a SuperBowl would have changed his whole career, but he was inches short.
Sometimes this world is just so crazy. He died today of a gunshot wound. Details of the crime are unfolding.
From ESPN:
Former NFL quarterback Steve McNair, whose most noted drive was the final one of the 2000 Super Bowl, was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head Saturday afternoon in a downtown condominium. Police said a woman was also shot dead.
McNair was 36 and played 13 seasons before retiring in April 2008. Police spokesman Don Aaron said officials tentatively identified the woman, but did not release her name. He confirmed she wasn’t McNair’s wife, Mechelle.
He said authorities were still investigating the shootings and that no suspects were in custody. (more…)
Update:
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.
You don’t accidentally shoot somebody in the head. You shoot somebody in the head when you want to make it personal. Although I haven’t been able to figure out any of the reports about where Steve McNair was shot, it is clear that his “friend” was shot in an up-close and personal manner. It’ll be interesting and revealing to figure out where he was shot.
It appears that Steve McNair was with this friend the night before he got shot. She was charged with driving while intoxicated in a car that was registered to both her and Steve McNair. (The plot thickens.)
Update II: Steve McNair was found with several gunshot wounds.
Keith Norfleet, Kazemi’s boyfriend for four years before they broke up five months ago, said he came to pick up the car for Kazemi.
Norfleet said McNair was in the car with her when the stop occurred, a fact that was not in the police affadavit but was confirmed by police Saturday night. McNair later bailed Kazemi out, according to bail bondsmen.
Norfleet said she told him she was seeing McNair, whom she met while working as a waitress at Dave & Busters. He was worried about her dating a married man and hopeful that they’d get back together. They had been living together for four years, since they moved from her family’s home in Jacksonville, Fla., to Nashville.
Old boyfriend still hanging around. I’m sure that the police will crawl up this man’s butt. In my opinion, Norfleet and the wife are the two most likely suspects.
Update III:
So, authorities are saying that this was a murder-suicide. We got no details yesterday about where the pistol was found or even if the pistol was found in the apartment. Today, we know that Steve McNair was shot several times, including once in the head. We also know that his girlfriend had a single gunshot wound to the head and a pistol was found lying beside her.
I don’t know. This sounds awfully convenient. This neighborhood where the condominium is located has been described as an upscale, sleepy neighborhood. Nobody heard several gunshots in the middle of the night? In spite of my skepticism, I find this awfully tragic.
