How will you remember Steve McNair?

He did a LOT of good in this world. It is a shame that is being overshadowed by bad choices in his personal life, but his personal life is just that--personal. It was between him and his wife, and he will be judged by a higher being than any of us here for that. It is not our place.

People's mistakes and failings do not discount their contributions to the world--especially to those less fortunate than themselves, because none of us are completely without our own failings.

1 vote

#1.3 - Wed Jul 8, 2009 4:01 PM EDT

what contributions exactly? He got paid millions to play a stupid game??? What good is that? Who benefitted other than he himself???

People's mistakes and failings what???? are you serious???

He was a whoremonger and died at the hands of a whore. Poetic justice if I ever saw it.

#1.4 - Thu Jul 9, 2009 11:20 PM EDT

Rodney-889389

I've known Steve since 1996, the one choice left out of this poll is, "Great person, a good friend and a loving father".

RIP, my friend, we all miss you :(

#1.5 - Fri Jul 10, 2009 6:53 PM EDT

Ines-1159800

Here is a good case of family values. The article mentions his wife and four sons, just barely mentions, I might add. Tells some about his GIRL FRIEND........ AND GOES ON AND ON AND ON ABOUT HIM BEING A GREAT MAN AND FOOTBALL PLAYER. Sure sounds like great man.....

IT'S ONLY A 'GAME' great men are home with their wife and FOUR BOYS raising them.

NOT IN A PARTY PAD WITH A GIRL FRIEND.

8 votes

#2 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 12:04 AM EDT

well said

1 vote

#2.1 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 11:41 AM EDT

Kshark

Ines-1159800--

Think of it this way, what did EVERYONE know him as, a football player.

Would anyone at all have known him if he did not play ball? Nope.

JFK was known as a great president, yet he screwed around behind Jackie's back.

Magic Johnson is known as a legendary basketball player, yet he contracted HIV for screwing around on his girlfriend with another woman who was HIV+.

Those are just two examples of people famous for a certain positive thing that did stupid thing sin their private life.

If neither of them was famous for being a B-Ball player or a President they wouldn't be known at all.

Most famous people have done stupid things, but if they were not famous no one would have known them and they would have just been anonymous people doing stupid things.

Football is more than a game for some. If you have something you really enjoy or what have you I could turn around and say "oh it is only just blah blah. Who cares."

You don't like football, fine then, others do, me being one of them.

2 votes

#2.2 - Wed Jul 8, 2009 12:34 AM EDT

Katy35

He spent all day Friday with his 4 boys fishing at a local lake in Sumner County. According to the owner, it was a regular trip he made with the boys. Perhaps if you lived here you would be a little more familiar with his family life.

No, it wasn't right that he was "dating" while married. Why don't guys learn to be good sportsmen - why, if they are unhappily married, cut the cord with the wife, separate or get a divorce. At the very least, it's much kinder and sportsman like.

1 vote

#2.3 - Wed Jul 8, 2009 8:30 PM EDT

Kshark: JFK was a whoremonger too. What's your point?

#2.4 - Thu Jul 9, 2009 11:21 PM EDT

kevin Wa. state

Jump to the conclusion that he was cheating on his wife thats what the inquirer does best. Lets say for the sake of argument that she was a Friend that happens to be a girl. Hence the phrase girl friend.Lets get THE FACTS. Not having those he was a great player and family man.Thats for the two previous posts.

2 votes

#3 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 1:40 AM EDT

Bob Rocklin

Sorry Kevin - the FACTS have already surfaced. He was dating the girl for the past 4 months per Nashville Police report. 20 years old - Escalade registered to McNair and HER - stopped the night before by Police after partying - etc. etc. - don;t be a lemming - another example of a great athlete, but a sleaze as a person - period.

1 vote

#3.1 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 10:47 AM EDT

yeah good one . she was just a girl "friend" . some friend

1 vote

#3.2 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 11:50 AM EDT

Erika-960357

Yeah right, black men and women can't be friends.

2 votes

#3.3 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 9:37 PM EDT

WTH does race have to do with it. This is a case of morals and ethics. This man cheated and was unlucky and got caught up in the worst way. Keep the race card out this it does not belong.

#3.4 - Mon Jul 6, 2009 3:28 PM EDT

who said anything about race. he apparently was good friends with his baby mommas too

#3.5 - Tue Jul 7, 2009 11:07 AM EDT

Earthie

Can you just IMAGINE the stories his son's will hear over the years about how GREAT an athletic their father was, then the ending question, for those who did not know their dad .... HOW DID YOUR FATHER DIE?

But being boys, who will eventually grow into manhood, I believe, will finally understand HOW their father fell into the TWISTS, or TRAPS in life!

I'm positive, MOST of us have experience this heartbreak, but not to the point where you wanted to kill the person who caused you the pain. Perhaps cheat, on the cheating spouse, to have them EXPERIENCE the pain, but NEVER murder!

I BELIEVE a VERY, VERY ANGRY, ENVIOUS and JEALOUS person, COMMITED THIS CRIME .

2 votes

#4 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 2:13 AM EDT

Joe-Steeler Fan

God bless you, thank you for your church lesson. Here is one for you, "Thou shall not Judge".

2 votes

#4.1 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 8:15 AM EDT

pearlgirl121

Earthie, and the rest of us, don't have to judge because judgment has already been issued. "Thou shalt not commit adultery", "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap", "the wages of sin is death", etc..........

3 votes

#4.2 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 1:55 PM EDT

There is a difference between having an opinion and judging.

1 vote

#4.3 - Mon Jul 6, 2009 3:34 PM EDT

Well if we apply what judging people based off crime, morals, and ethic etc.. then that means Judge Judy, Judge Joe Brown, and a host of other judges are on a one way trip to hell. If a man or woman steals then they are a thief, this is not judgement it is fact. How to the holly rollers want to play bible now????

#4.4 - Mon Jul 6, 2009 3:51 PM EDT

Joe-Steeler Fan

I am saddened by this tragic incident. Steve McNair displayed talent and mental toughness every game he played. This man led his team to a Super Bowl game. I will NOT judge his personal life. I will remember his leadership skills and his desire to be the best he could for his team mates and fans. My prayers are with his entire family.........R I P.

2 votes

#5 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 8:04 AM EDT

SansJRS

Well said, thank you!

RIP Mr. McNair...sympathies and prayers to his family. Matthew 5:4

2 votes

#5.1 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 1:13 PM EDT

yes lets judge him on his outstanding personal life. you play a GAME for a brief period of life. you are a role model and ethical person forever. he will never be a role model for me or my kids.

#5.2 - Tue Jul 7, 2009 11:11 AM EDT

ca-1199343, it's not our place to judge him. You can have all the opinions you want on whether or not it was right/wrong/whatever, but there is only one being that it supposed to judge, and I don't think it's you.

All that being said, I have never thought athletes or actors should be role models because of what they do. Your kids have a role model, and it should be you. You're probably teaching them right from wrong, so they hopefully won't make the bad choices he made. But what if they do? Will you judge them and be hateful to them too? Or will you remind them (and other people talking about them) of the wonderful things they've done for others, then encourage them to make it right?

Maybe Mr. McNair would have made amends for the wrongs he did to his family. He never got the chance to be a better man. Someone took that away from him. But that doesn't change the good that he did or the pain that his family and friends are now suffering.

1 vote

#5.3 - Wed Jul 8, 2009 4:10 PM EDT

yes but TiredofHaters, you bring up a good point. He is dead, but the suffering his family faces will continue for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately for McNair (I dont' think he deserves the Mr. at this point) he died committing adultery, not showing remorse, so I think pretty much that falls under "not being sorry for what you did, being sorry for getting caught (or shot in this case)"

#5.4 - Thu Jul 9, 2009 11:25 PM EDT

CodyM

Steve McNair was the toughest player, not just QB, I've ever seen. I had the joy of watching him play once, albeit a preseason game, and I can agree with the fact that no player, before or since, ever gave or recieved as much punishment as he did, and kept on keeping on. Sad day in TN right now.

1 vote

#6 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 8:49 AM EDT

Alan-1199191

"Don't judge" is a lame way of saying that God's principles for living can never be appied to anyone by anyone else. It can at least be said that meeting a single woman in an empty condo in the middle of the night is a really poor choice and very suspect.

Not a good moral example to anyone despite the "actual" reason, which will come out soon enough. Great athlete - poor moral compass. That isn't judging, it's just a fact Jack.

1 vote

#7 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 9:04 AM EDT

Alan-1199191

You can also take note that whoever was holding the gun made a judgement call as well - homicide isn't justifiable in any case, but someone was angry or desprate enough to take two lives.

1 vote

#7.1 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 9:10 AM EDT

dfwretoday

Well said!! I detest when people like to pull one passage out of the Bible ("Don't judge, lest you be judged") and then totally ignore the rest. The truth is the truth. People love to pick and choose what they want to use from God's word. That's not the way it works.

1 vote

#7.2 - Mon Jul 6, 2009 12:02 PM EDT

Rick-1199292

If you use the words "great man", it is all encompassing. His apparent actions do not speak to greatness. When his wife indicates she had not heard from him in days, and others are indicating he was dating this lady for months in secrecy, that does not speak to greatness. His children deserved better, something greater. If you are going to call an audible in your relationship, do it first before throwing the ball to another option.

3 votes

#8 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 10:34 AM EDT

topher123

no one knows what happens behind closed doors. Maybe he and his wife were going to divorce, maybe it was an open marriage. We are not here to judge. R.I.P. steve you were a great quaterback who wasn't afraid to run the ball. You played a great game

2 votes

#9 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 10:51 AM EDT

pearlgirl121

Maybe they were (that is a speculation/conclusion you can jump to if you like), but the fact is that they were STILL MARRIED. IF that was the case, he couldn't respect his family enough to WAIT until a divorce finalized or be A LITTLE discreet if their marriage was "open" (the girlfriend's neighbors said that he was with the girl several times a week, at all hours, and didn't even try to hide his presence). Sleazy any way you slice it...

1 vote

#9.1 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 2:02 PM EDT

maybe if he wasnt a football player nobody would care. it is just a game. like hopscotch or foosball.too many people woship too many losers. whats more important throwing a football or being a respectable person.

1 vote

#10 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 12:19 PM EDT

SWM

Hmmm....How will I remember Steve McNair? -- how about this: As an all too typical, overpaid "hero" athlete who cheated on his wife and paid for his indiscretions -- what a loser. Isn't it time to come to the realization that while shooting a basektball through a hoop, throwing a football to a receiver, hitting a golf ball into a cup, etc. etc. are all fun to watch or do, they shouldn't qualify one for hero worship? Perhaps living an honest life and being true to oneself and one's family are better qualifications.

7 votes

#11 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 12:43 PM EDT

"Paid for his indiscretions"? Last time I checked the U.S. wasn't one of the places where death is the punishment for adultery.

1 vote

#11.1 - Wed Jul 8, 2009 4:14 PM EDT

pearlgirl121

Too bad my choice wasn't represented. I will remember McNab as a cheating ba$t@rd who got what he deserved (him and his girlfriend). You don't get a special dispensation of goodness because you're a star. When you live like that you open yourself to those kinds of outcomes. I will remember him as the loser who put his wife in an extremely humiliating position (while alive and in his death) by cheating and secretly rubbing it in her face by taking her to the restaurant where his girlfriend worked. It was also potentially dangerous; his girlfriend could have decided that she was going to have him no matter what (she wouldn't be the first) and could have poisoned the wife &/or kids food. It is ridiculous to hear that McNab and his girlfriend were "good" people who "didn't deserve this"... if they were so "good" they wouldn't have done something that ultimately ruined so many people's lives...

2 votes

#12 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 1:51 PM EDT

Death as a punishment for adultery. Really? And...it's McNair.

1 vote

#12.1 - Wed Jul 8, 2009 4:17 PM EDT

BRENDA-755413

Pearlgirl is right. The gun that the girlfriend purchased could have been used on McNair's wife/kids. Would he still be the "hero" if the headlines said "Jealous girlfriend of McNair wipes out an entire family"? Homicide is not the punishment for adultry....but it's a deserving second choice.

#12.2 - Thu Jul 9, 2009 10:05 AM EDT

kobron123

The self-righteousness expressed in this blog is frankly disgusting and obviously comes from people who've accomplished nothing great in their lifes. pearlgirl calls him McNab, as though black quarterbacks are interchangeable, signifying a veiled ignorance and/or racism which powers her evil invective. You people cast stones while living in glass houses. Many will argue that athletes contribute to society by bringing entertainment and joy to millions. I know McNair did for me and many others. What noteworthy thing have any of you done worthy of anybody's gratitude?

1 vote

#13 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 3:42 PM EDT

SWM

kobron123 -- When did it become "self-righteousness" to believe that good moral character should be overlooked because someone brought "entertainment and joy to millions"? And...why play the race card here? I could care less had McNair been purple and from Mars -- it seems to me that stupidity (independent of race or any other factors) was the issue here: based on the evidence presented to date, it seems to me that he can only blame himself for his demise -- I don't think this would have happened had he been at home with his wife and 4 kids.

3 votes

#13.1 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 4:16 PM EDT

Entertainment, yes...Joy??? If you gain JOY from something like watching other people play a game, you have a pretty sorry life. And adultery is adultery and it is a sickening crime and he got what he (or anyone else who does it) deserved.

Most people do not EXPECT gratitude, or adulation, for the deeds they do. They do them because they are right, kind, giving, or whatever. Professional athletes oftentimes feel that they are operating under a different set of rules than us regular people, and lots of times they are. That's a shame. They are no better than anyone else.

I have never done anything "noteworthy" because I am not a showboat and do not want admiration. I just try to be a good person, like most people do. However I do take in children and horses, but that probably doesn't count to you, because you admire people who run around and sweat for a living, playing a game.

#13.2 - Thu Jul 9, 2009 11:47 PM EDT

EO-453119

I feel sympathy for his sons and his wife. People make bad choices, unfortunately, this bad choice led to his death. Not only does his family have to deal with grief, but also of being humiliated by a man that chose some 20 year old over being home with his family. I don't think this was his niece he was with. Whatever. What a sad day. Two human lives wasted and for what? Another athlete gone wrong because of a big ego. This is how he will be remembered.

6 votes

#14 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 5:26 PM EDT

loveblue2

Well said, EO, well said. Another example of someone who had everything and just threw it away. And, for what????? Maybe they should just change the marriage vows, because a lot of people just stand up there, repeat the vows, then conduct themselves in the marriage like they totally missed that part of the ceremony. This tragic incident is one of the reasons I'm the age I am and never got married. Seems like faithfulness in marriage is too much to ask for a lot of people. If you're that unhappy, get a divorce. I can't even imagine what his wife is going through. WHO can she be angry at for this?? She certainly can't call her husband out on the carpet - he's dead!!! And, you know his children will eventually hear crappy comments about how their father died, especially from kids who were jealous that they had a famous and rich dad in the first place. EVERYBODY suffers here because another moron man couldn't keep his d&ck where it belonged.

I'll remember Steve McNair for what he was - a complete and utter MORON!! Famous, talented, and rich - but a moron nonetheless.

#14.1 - Sat Jul 11, 2009 11:21 AM EDT

Char Wright

I'll remember him as a great Titan.

2 votes

#15 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 5:47 PM EDT

Kshark

I didn't watch him play for the Titans. He did play for my Balitmore Ravens so I can remember that. he did very well for the team. and we were pleased to have him as the QB.

Many will miss him.

2 votes

#16 - Sun Jul 5, 2009 11:09 PM EDT

urworstnitemare

Rooting for the Steelers I obviously was not a fan of his. That does not mean that I did not respect him. He had great talent and I did get to see him play quite often. I use to sit and watch in amazement to some of the things he did like nobody else could and say to myself. " How did he ever do that?"

I wish his family well.

3 votes

#17 - Mon Jul 6, 2009 8:44 AM EDT

blindsided-1194485

If McNair was having a affair with this woman while still married to his wife he committed adultery. Having said that,he didn't deserve to die that way,no one does. It was tragic and senseless. Some of the comments on this site are just vindictive. If you didn't like the man, that's fine. But keep your poisoned comments to yourself if for no other reason out of respect for his family. I'll always remember him as a great competitor and leader who helped to break stereotypes in professional football. He made many a sunday enjoyable for me and my family watching him play. He touched many a football fan and player alike with his tenacity and never say die attitude on the field. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. May god forgive his sins and take his soul into his kingdom.

2 votes

#18 - Mon Jul 6, 2009 9:12 AM EDT

Brad Orlando

I think it's pretty pathetic that 4 boys are left fatherless because he can't control himself. Who cares about what he did on the football field at this point. There are families devasted because once again a pro athlete shows you can't take someone and give them millions and expect them to behave. I put him in the same breath as OJ, Plaxico, Vick, and now McNair. This is a sad statement on Sports in America. At least in tennis and golf you have to earn it. If you don't play in tennis and golf, you don't get paid. I love football, baseball, and mostly all sports - but it's time to stop paying stupid people to behave badly. I am over it. He got what he deserved but sadly the boys are fatherless now.

#19 - Mon Jul 6, 2009 12:41 PM EDT

OJ is in a category by himself acquitted of murder and a moron.

Plaxico just dumb as box rocks to shoot yourself.

Michael Vick dog fighter- so what no different(dislike pitbulls anyway what are they good for) then hunters shooting deer for food or contest.

McNair a drunk driver who cheats.

#19.1 - Mon Jul 6, 2009 3:58 PM EDT

Each person you named is a worthless piece of sh*t and your trying to compare them to normal sportsman makes you dumber than Plaxico. Again, a person out here talking about something he (or she) obviously knows NOTHING about.

If you ever went hunting, and then saw a staged dogfight, you'd quickly see the difference, and you'd be one of the little girl-boys running to a corner to puke. I resent your attempts to link the two.

#19.2 - Thu Jul 9, 2009 11:54 PM EDT

Gerard-1200509

It's unfortunate what happen to these two human beings. No one deserves to be murdered. As for the Bible thumpers and other holier than thou who call him a loser and other disparaging names because he cheated. Would they say the same thing about David and Solomon who wrote Psalms and Proverbs? They cheated too. If those same people had the same temptations that comes with great wealth and fame, would they fare any better than he did? This is a tragedy plain and simple. My prayers are with them and their respective families.

2 votes

#20 - Mon Jul 6, 2009 1:01 PM EDT