At a time when NFL fans and observers are struggling both to come to grips with the death of former Ravens and Titans quarterback Steve McNair and to comprehend the double life he was leading, a key question has arisen.
How will McNair be remembered?
Jemele Hill of ESPN.com argues that our memories of McNair should focus on the good things, and that we should accept the fact that athletes and celebrities are susceptible to the same flaws that afflict many members of the population at large.
“Behind every wonderful athlete lurks a very fallible human
condition,” she writes. “And no matter how many football Sundays we spend with
athletes, no matter how many wondrous tasks we see them performing,
sports are only a brief snapshot of their life. . . .
“But
at a time like this, we need to remember that athletes don’t live
inside our television sets, nor do they live in their uniforms. They
live in the real world, where they are free to make mistakes just like
the rest of us.”
Nancy Gay, in her first column for Fanhouse, explains that the circumstances surrounding McNair’s death shouldn’t tarnish his legacy.
McNair’s coach in Baltimore, however, realizes that the negative will forever taint the positive.
“It’s a life lesson for all of us that all it takes is conduct in a
certain way to wipe all that out,” Brian Billick told WNST in Baltimore. “It will never remove the good things
that he did with his life, but how he’s perceived by the fans –
whether that has value or not — that’s irrecoverable. That asterisk is
always going to be attached to it because of the tragic way his life
ended.”
We think that the reality will land somewhere in the middle. McNair’s actions weren’t so egregious (or, as high-profile millionaire athletes go, unusual) to undermine the manner in which his playing career should be remembered. That said, even those who chalk up as evidence of McNair’s humanity his decision to cavort with a girl 16 years his junior while he had a wife and four sons at home will remain cognizant of the fundamental fact that he betrayed his family.
To be sure, pro athletes and celebrities have done far worse. But McNair’s actions — and their connection to his demise — necessarily will tarnish his overall reputation as a football player and as a man.
As Jamie Dukes of NFLN pointed out last week, players are human beings, and as such they will make mistakes. But this doesn’t mean that their mistakes should be ignored; the rest of us can learn valuable lessons from the errors of those whom we tend to idolize.
That’s precisely why McNair’s legacy fairly should consist of his full lifetime of behavior, good, bad, and otherwise.
You’re always most remembered for what you did last. McNair’s legacy will be forever tarnished.
Look, I am not religious in the least little bit, but here is my take on this…. McNair in a football sense should be judged on his football credentials, which should put him into the HOF. McNair in a human sense should and will be judged by God, so why even question it?
F–k you brian billick. He’ll be remembered in Baltimore more fondly than your “offensive mastermind” a$$.
I will always remember Steve McNair for his sheer will and determination to fight through injuries his entire career. As a Steeler fan, I watched him destroy my team many times and I personally developed a “hated respect” for the guy. I’ll remember him for being a good citizen and great community guy.
People need to lay off him a bit. Like many have said, McNair was HUMAN, he made a mistake, which ultimately led to a tragedy that could have been AVOIDED if not for a total nutcase girl. Nobody deserves 4 bullets for anything. McNair was not a bad guy i.e a Pacman, Vick, Chris Henry whose careers have been defined by mistakes.
When people pass away, it’s time to honor their life. Steve McNair’s life to NFL fans and media was his football career and everything that developed from that, not being unfaithful.
RIP Steve and prayers to the families, from a Steeler fan
F–k you brian billick. He’ll be remembered in Baltimore more fondly than your “offensive mastermind” a$$.
If Steve McNair, who very few people have had anything bad to say about and was a prime example of an athlete who conducted himself with class and gave back to the community, was my brother cousin uncle whatever and you Florio not even a week after his death wrote on some public forum that his “reputation as a man” has been tarnished after he was the VICTIM of a homocide, I would find you and beat you till my knuckles wore out. I don’t give a damn whether he was banging the crazy 20 yr old chick that did it or not….you have no way of knowing the real dynamic inside his household I wish people would have the decency to give a dead man’s soul at least a week to rest before piling dirt all over it. Truly despicable.
How many Steve McNair articles is this now???
McNair was given everything in life and he pissed it away for a piece of pie.
Being from Mississippi myself,I think he’ll be remembered as a damn good QB,and person
Yeah, let’s all forget the fact that he was a cheating sleazeball. The media is ridiculous. Just call it what it is… We lost a great former football player, that’s it. Stop trying to make this all into something that it’s not. If you don’t want to hold his cheating against him on a personal level, then forget about his charitable donations as well and just call it what it is…
People like Jemele Hill only further the exact mindset that is ruining our society: if you’re famous, it’s ok if you’re a scumbag in real life.
I’m sorry, but that’s a load of shit.
Just like Michael Jackson before him, we’ve held up a normal human being because he was good at entertaining other people or playing a game. He didn’t save lives. He didn’t lead a group of soldiers into battle. He was a FOOTBALL PLAYER.
And he lost his life by cheating on his wife and abandoning his family, the most sacred thing that all of us have.
It doesn’t take a genius to look around and figure out why we are the way we are today. We’ve let fortune & fame become more important than love & honor.
Steve McNair was a fine quarterback. But he never one a Super Bowl. He doesn’t own any major passing records. He wasn’t even the first black quarterback to do anything substantial in the NFL (that credit belongs to Doug Williams and Warren Moon). All he was was a celebrity in recent memory.
And his lack of moral integrity has left him as just that: a memory. THAT’S what we should be focusing on….so that the thousands or even millions of people who looked up to him learn not to make the same damn mistake.
By all accounts Steve was a good & kind man. This will be remembered. They was he passed will also be remebered.
Perhaps all that matters now is how his children remember him. They knew him and I believe that part will be OK. Still it may be tough for them to get over it.
I wish the media would help out in this area but they wont. Sad.
McNair’s legacy resides in his four sons…a fact that players, coaches and media ignore in their quest to analyze statistics, on-field performance and ratings dollars.
The behavioral standard set by current and former NFL players doesn’t matter a whit when it comes to their future…which involves daddy not being there to see them grow up.
Disappointing.
I guess I’ll remember Steve McNair as a player with an uncanny knack for beating up on my Steelers.
It’s a safe bet this will come up in next year’s rookie symposium..
mcnair’s legacy is my eyes (and remember this is my opinon not yours so please dont reply to my opinon please just read it and respect it) the exact same as i viewed him before he died. he was my childhood hero, someone whose will to finish always outweighed all other circumstances, be that the score, lack of pieces around him, adversity, or even one of his numerous injuries. he was tennessee he was nashville he was a titan even more he was a good human being..doesnt matter to me what the press “uncovers” or what people who tentatively watch and throw around things they think they know about him or what they presume the situation that led to his death was. the fact is none of us were there so how can we speak on a situation that we have no absolute knowledge of yes there are pictures and reports and hearsay but do we as actual individuals from the outside actually know. another fact is we have all done things we shouldnt have or regretted no one who has anything negative to say has lived “a perfect life”..and if the situation was reverse and if it was true or not would you want to have your name attempted to be smeared by self righteous ppl who unknowingly of the actual facts condemn a man for his life that he lived. now you could say that could never happen to me or id never do this but what if it happened to 1 of your parents of children? is this how you’d want ppl, again without actually knowing the actual events, to speak about your loved 1s? so again in my eyes steve mcnair is and will always be my childhood hero the man who through pure will power could do anything
Who are we to judge this man? He’s a grown man and we should remember him for what impact he had on us. Whatever he did that affected is family is up to HIS FAMILY. That’s none of our business.
What mistake did he make? What double life was he leading? Is he not allowed to see who he wants to see no matter the age? As long as the girl is of legal age who are we to judge. So what if he was married. People cheat all the time. Maybe he was planning to divorce his wife, who knows? I don’t see anything he did as wrong. People need to stop putting athletes on a pedestal. They’re regular people who just have more talent to play a sport for entertainment value. This incident should take nothing away from the player he was. People need to stop looking down at the now dead man as bad guy. There’s been alot worse stuff that people have done than dating a girl 16 years younger than he was. He was doing nothing wrong. Stop hating on the guy and remember how bad ass of player he was who opened the position for a whole new type of QB. Enshrine him in the HOF in 5 years.
if mcnair was legally separated from his wife, why do people question his morals? i don’t get all the holier than thou crap that people are sprouting. same thing with wacko jacko being consided a hero by the same people who wanted to hang him for all the child crap. we all have things in our past we want no one to know. so stop with the lack of morals crap and focus on his football achievements
At face value, you might say it’s disgraceful. Certainly, the ones paying for it now are his family. But, who here has lived with the McNairs and knows what kind of relationship he had (or didn’t have) with his wife, and what may have driven him to seek companionship elsewhere? We don’t know what was going on in his life outside of what the media has presented up to this point.
Sorry, but I’m not going to pass judgment on the man based on anything other than what I’ve seen on the field and what friends and teammates have said about the guy regarding his off-the-field demeanor.
I don’t get into people’s person business and mistakes they have made. I have made too many myself. Sports is usually my escape from this sort of drama.
McNair did do an honorableness thing here but he shouldn’t be judged solely on this. I feel he more than paid for his mistake. He also did a lot of good in his life and for the most part seemed like a decent person, again I don’t usually read to much on personal lives.
I choose to keep my memories of Steve on the field since I never knew the person Steve McNair. Its the only place I watched him and can be a judge and jury. I was a fan of his from the start which is the only reason I even pay attention to this.
My thoughts are too his family and all those affected by this tragic incident.
In the grand scheme of things, if you like it or not, when people say Steve McNair’s name the first thing they will think of is that he was killed along with his girlfriend. How should he be remembered? To his family, for the good, and to the rest of the public, for the good and bad.
Steve McNair was not a household name to people outside of football (even arguably to those who follow football being as he does not play anymore and is not one of the most popular players) so people who are learning of McNair now only know that he was a football player who died in mysterious circumstances and that he had a girlfriend and a wife. Even though there are rumblings that he was separated from his wife, therefore people should not have a problem with this (moral police), but people don’t delve into the details, they respond based on what they hear.
Why I don’t have a problem with it is that if all of this came to light before he died, no one would have a problem with it coming out and people would be calling him a scumbag (some still have), because they have no idea what the whole story is. Steve McNair made his choices of how he wanted to live his life, and while it is nobody’s business, people always want to tell other people who they should live their lives and want to pile on when others do wrong. The reaction is similar to those of James Harrison’s dog biting his son (people, kids include, are bit by dogs all of the time), football players getting DUIs (how many people, PFTers included, drive when they are legally drunk and are not caught), and even TO and Chad Johnson talking to the media (the media asks them questions, then gets jumps on them when they answer a question); just because he was a good guy, we should forget anything questionable that he has done just because he is dead, but it’s okay to villify other good people who do questionable things because they are alive. It’s funny how when the media does its job of reporting all of the facts people get mad because it’s not the objective driven drivel that downplays the bad stuff and super-saturates you with the good.
I, personally, see nothing wrong with him having a girlfriend if he was separated at the time. I do question how good of a guy he really is if he abandoned her after she got her DUI while he was in the car with her and left her in the wake of his taxicab or whatever transportation he received. But, we really don’t know these guys so nothing really surprises me at this point. There are a lot of good people who do bad things and it’s expected because they are human.
All I know is that now when I hear McNair’s name, I think of him being murdered along with/maybe by his girlfriend. It’s called recency.
Just remembered the example I was looking for. If Elliot Spitzer or Mark Stanford (sp) were killed during their extra-marital affairs, how would have they been remembered? Both had spotless (from what I recall) records and those seemed to be the only blemishes on their resumes, but since they are alive they have/had to face the music. If they had died, would people be up in arms that they should be remembered for the good? Even if they were to die right now, would there be an expectation that we forget their negatives? No, because while it is sad when anyone dies, their flaws make them what they are and are part of their legacy. You don’t think that Brett Favre will also be remembered for coming back with the Vikes to get some revenge (if that timetable that our souces-Florio-is legit)?
Steve McNair will be remembered for being a stellar NFL player and for caring about others off the field.
“That said, even those who chalk up as evidence of McNair’s humanity his decision to cavort with a girl 16 years his junior while he had a wife and four sons at home will remain cognizant of the fundamental fact that he betrayed his family.”
================================
Aren’t the 4 children by different mothers? 2 by his wife and the other 2 either by another woman or 2 other women.
That being the case (if it is) then his running around with a 20 year old isn’t such a shocking thing… is it?
Douche bag. Certainly not the first supposed “good guy” who turned out to be a lyin’, cheatin’ scum bag, but his kids get to live with this for the rest of their lives. If he’d been at home with his family instead of banging some girl only three years older than his oldest kid, he wouldn’t have gotten his head blown off. Sometimes life is that simple.
Let’s put it this way; when my son asks me years from now who Steve Mcnair was, he will be two things: a guy who was a pretty good quarterback, and (funny story) the guy who was shot by his 20 year old mistress. BTW, that’s funny strange, not funny ha-ha.
When a normal man/woman has a great career but then is found cheating, they never get a pass. That person is usually chastised and scathed for their dishonorable acts. Their lives and their family’s lives are torn apart forever.
No one is perfect, but it makes me a little sick when athlete/celebs get the “lets focus on the good” treatment after their passing.
What you do in your career should always be second to how live your personal life. I think our media and culture forgets this…
I agree that McNair’s legacy would fairly consist of his full lifetime of behavior; I think that should be true of anyone’s legacy.
What McNair did by cheating on his wife was clearly wrong, and a clearly a terrible thing to do. It also needs to be put into context and perspective.
We understandably are disappointed and outraged when we hear of celebrities – athletes, politicians, etc. – having extramarital affairs. What many don’t realize is that infidelity is a problem throughout society. According to the University of Chicago’s respected National Opinion Research Center, about 22% of men in the U.S. have been involved in extramarital affairs. Think about it – that means most of us know someone – a friend, a family member, a co-worker – who has been involved in an extramarital affair (though we may have no idea about the affair).
If someone we know has had an affair, does it affect their legacy? Yes, and it should. But does it completely erase all the good that they have done in their life? I don’t think so. (And does it mean that they somehow deserve to die a violent death in their mid-30′s? I really don’t think so.)
Let’s remember Steve McNair for who he was. He was fallible and human, and we should have no pretense that he was perfect. But he was mostly a good human being, one of us, and someone who ultimately brought joy to many people’s lives.
If only the perfect get into heaven, we’re all going to hell.
“how he’s perceived by the fans — whether that has value or not — that’s irrecoverable. That asterisk is always going to be attached to it because of the tragic way his life ended.”
I am going to disagree, and say that no asterisk will be attached, and that he no longer cares about how he will be perceived by the fans.
It doesn’t really matter how we remember him. It’s how his family remembers him that counts. My prayers go out to them.
Would Jemele Hill say we should just forgot about those things if it was a white Quarterback who got killed? No way in hell.
he was black and the media is mostly white…you make the call….no florio…seriously…you make the call
It’s topics like these that make me long for the days of rating comments. You brought out a lot of morons with this one, Mike.
How can so many people not get this simple fact: Just because everyone makes mistakes does NOT make mistakes OK.
And being married with four kids and having a teenage mistress (she was 20 when she died…how long had he been hitting it?) is not just A mistake. It is a lifestyle of wrongdoing.
Listen apologists, just because this clown helped you win a fantasy football championship back in 2003 doesn’t make him a good guy. Good guys are faithful to their wives and family, and if they make a mistake once, they certainly don’t make a lifestyle of it like McNair did.
And think about this. If he hadn’t had himself a girlfriend on the side, he’d be alive today. Yeah, wrong decisions have consequences. And just as many of you have said that his wrong decisions can’t wipe out the good he has done, that works the other way, too. The good things he may have done do not wipe out his errors.
That depends on who you choose to remember…the athlete or the retired athlete. I choose to remember him as the athlete. Even though he wasn’t one of the greatest of all time…I enjoyed watching him play.
“blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, etc…. Truly despicable.”
____
No, what is truly despicable is effing around with a 20YO when you’re 36, married and have four kids.
And by the way, he wasn’t good enough to get into the HOF.
# aaronwilsonsucks says: July 7, 2009 12:22 AM
If Steve McNair, who very few people have had anything bad to say about and was a prime example of an athlete who conducted himself with class and gave back to the community, was my brother cousin uncle whatever and you Florio not even a week after his death wrote on some public forum that his “reputation as a man” has been tarnished after he was the VICTIM of a homocide, I would find you and beat you till my knuckles wore out. I don’t give a damn whether he was banging the crazy 20 yr old chick that did it or not….you have no way of knowing the real dynamic inside his household I wish people would have the decency to give a dead man’s soul at least a week to rest before piling dirt all over it. Truly despicable.
—————————————————
And If I was around I’d throw a reciprocal beatdown on you ya meathead. You sir are a textbook definition of an idiot. The guy was cheating on his wife and kids (seperation doesn’t mean jack, he was STILL married), so by defin ition he wasn’t the good guy you painted him as. Outside of something like Murder or rape or child molestation nothing rates much lower than cheating on your wife and kids.
What the dynamic of his household is is completely irrelevant. If you have kids it’s your RESPONSIBILITY to keep it in your pants and be true to your wife. If you can’t do that until your kids are grown and you’ve divorced your wife then you deserve whatever you get in the end. This is a tragic story no doubt but the monumental spin is appalling. Cheating is bad mmmkay and no amount of goodwill on a football field erases that. Billick is 100% on the money here. What Mcnair did is no better than what Vick did in my mind. Both complete scumbag moves. Yet because Vick’s victims were fuzzy cuddly pets people aren’t talking about how much they enjoyed watching him play. Be consistent folks. Who cares about what he di on the field at this poiont? By all accounts he’s dead because he was a scumbag cheater. That’s his legacy to his children, A grave to visit and tyhe lasting memory of finding out your dad was cheating because he was murdered over it. For all those talking of seperation and apologizing…his wife is as shocked as the rest of us, that’s all ya need to know. She had no clue and is stunned. Great legacy alright, I’m sure she’s lamenting his Super Bowl run and Co MVP season.
DPR: Great post, I agree 100%.
‘Kidekk says: July 7, 2009 1:31 AM
Why I don’t have a problem with it is that if all of this came to light before he died, no one would have a problem with it coming out and people would be calling him a scumbag (some still have), because they have no idea what the whole story is.”
BULL!!
Cheating is cheating, the story behind it is irrelevant. I couldn’t care less what his reasons are, the fact is the guy was stepping out on his wife (and has been for at least 6 months) and kids with a girl who was only slightly older than his oldest kid. Cheating is a scumbag move no matter how you spin it so the details are completely irrelevant.
It pisses me off all this talk about McNair tarnishing his legacy. Jeff Fischer was on TV last night talking about how if McNair would apologize if he could say anything and all these people talking about how one big mistake ruins it all.
He, like many many famous people, liked to bag young little hotties. Yes that is bad but really it isn’t that big of a deal. He was friken murdered at point blank range. He was a good person.
That is like saying “yeah, McNair was murdered but you know he got a DUI back in 03′ so he kind of had it coming.”
Seriously. This should do nothing to tarnish his legacy. It is a terrible tragedy brought on by some psycho.
I feel badly for the kids. Some people are unselfish and hang out in bad relationships for their kids sake and some take off.
I was fortunate to have seen McNair play and countless times in person. I can remember him taking time to pose for a picture with my young son when the team had their first training camp in Tennessee after moving from Houston.
Number 9′s legacy on the field should be remembered as one of the toughest players the league has ever seen. McNair was the ultimate team player. He was one of the rare mobile quarterbacks that could throw the ball just as well.
As far as judging the man for his last moments on earth, he who is without sin, cast the first stone.
My thoughts and prayers go out to his wife and children.
Oranjellojones, you took what I said out of context. What I said is that we don’t know if he was cheating because there are mixed reports about what his marital statues was at that time; he was separated from his wife and had moved out of the house, or he was still living with his wife. And her age has nothing to do with the severity of his action if he was in fact cheating. Would him being with a 36 year old woman make it more okay? Also, I’m saying that I don’t have a problem with how he is being portrayed because no one would have had a problem with it if he was still alive. It’s only because he has died that people are coming to his defense.
Amen Florio.
sando – how can it not tarnish his legacy?
It has nothign to do with opinion that everyone is going to remember that he was murdered in cold blood, but by who — “the young little hottie” he was cheating on his wife with.
Listen, this is terrible that this happened to a high profile ex NFL star, but the facts remain, and they will be remembered.
No Kiddek you missed the point. His wife is evidently shocked. If she’s shocked then the whole “He was seperated and moved out so he was free to dip his wick anywhere he wanted”…and she knew about it slant doesn’t work. Furthermore, seperated doesn’t mean divorced. I know lots of folks who seperated and now have happy healthy marriages. Either way the fact that his wife is stunned and knew nothing of it tells ya all ya need to knwo. Pure scumbag move and yes hooking up with a girl half your age, barely an adult and not even legal to drink IS a big deal in my book.
Those passing judgement on another human being for his shortcomings are funny people. There’s a place waiting in hell for dumb asses like you.
God bless the dead, whatever the circumstances of their death. Unless we can come and peer into every crack, corner, and piece of your life…I’d suggest that you’d be best served to be quiet. Hypocrisy is a bad trait to have.
If you’re a real man or woman, you’d honor the dead. he wasn’t Hitler, he wasn’t Bin Laden, he wasn’t some murderer, he wasn’t a person with a violent lifestyle, deserving of such an end to his life.
I don’t agree with infidelity, but I also know that I’m not perfect. Unless you’re Christ himself, neither are you. So show some respect losers or stop with your social commentary when these people lie dead. Save that shit for another day.
By defaulting on the Escalade loan…
Mcnair’s wife claims that she didn’t know about this girl. I’m not buying it.
With pictures of this girl and McNair on TMZ and the web, how could she have not known.
we only owe the dead the truth. not more inane hero worship.
for all the ‘worshippers’ know, mcnair did this kind of stuff all the time. in fact, the smart money says he did.
not a role model. and if ya keep taking chances, rookies, here is what can happen.
and most of the people here who are saying “let him without sin…” arent religious or moral at all. they are just defending “a brother”.
Oh God, millions of couples have marital problems. In my book this doesn’t tarnish anything. The majority of people on pedestals talking about tarnished legacies are throwing stones from their glass homes.
One thing’s for sure, Brat Favre is pissed that McNair’s death has upstaged him in the press.
Legacy?
Ten years from now, I won’t give him a second thought unless someone reminds me of him. Then I’ll reflect on how he affected my life.
I enjoyed watching him play, and hope I will remember that he was a tireless warrior. He never gave up on the field. I’m aware that he gave back to the community and I’ll have to accept that as truth, but it had no affect on me personally.
Whatever the state of his marriage was, it’s of no concern to me and certainly none of my business. Whatever your morals are, he did not deserve to die this way and if you think he did, then you need to take a closer look at your own morals. No one, and I mean not one single person on this planet, has the right to pass judgement on this man. Save your petty name calling for when you look in the mirror, it serves no purpose here and only reflects on your own character.
I have no knowledge of the state of Mr. McNair’s marriage and don’t care to. It’s none of my business and completely irrelevant at this point in time. He was murdered at the young age of 36, it is a sad state of affairs that we find ourselves in, that anyone would feel it necessary to speak unkindly of someone cut down in the prime of their life in such a way.
His legacy? A football player who delighted his fans, and never gave up on the field. That’s how I’ll remember Steve McNair. My sympathies to his family and especially his children who must now live their lives without their father. Not because of something he did, but because of a wanton act of violence that no one deserves.
My lasting memory of Steve Mcnair will be this:
Scrambling around late in the Super Bowl and completing THAT pass that kept them alive.
I dont remember this for the great effort, but because I had the “under” for Steve Mcnair’s passing yards and THAT completion put the total over.
Oranjello, you know as much about this situation as I do, which is nothing. There are conflicting reports, the wife has not come out and said anything directly but it was reported through sources. And separated does not mean divorced, but it does change the constraints of the marital relationship and just because you know people who have healthy relationships after being separated does not mean that is how it works for every couple. Just because you believe it works that way does not make it so, because I’m sure that there are a lot of people who separate and their relationships don’t have the endings that the handful of couples you know who have gone through it have. That would be like me saying that I know people who have cheated on their partners and their relationships are still strong, while discounting all of the other people who have been cheated on and end their relationships. While I don’t know exactly what she was shocked about, maybe the fact that she lost a loved one and (huge maybe) she is not ready to admit to the fact that she knew what was going on for fear of how she would look has something to do with her said reaction, because she has said nothing herself. But everything is just speculation at this point as she has people speaking for her, maybe even the same person who discovered the bodies, and called a family friend before calling the cops. Make that, 30 minutes passed by before the cops were called after the bodies were discovered, which is something I still don’t understand. Maybe you can enlighten me on this since you seem to be so well versed on the topic. Furthermore, what does her not being of legal age to drink have to do with her being able to have sex? Maybe I’m mistaken, but can’t you get a gun permit and buy a gun before you can drink in this country?Unless the age of consent in TN is 21, his having sex with a 20 year old is no different than him having sex with a 36 year old. You make it seem like there are no relationships in which the male or even female is 10+ years older than their counterpart. So would it have been less sleazy if he was 50 and she was 34?
What will Robbie Alomar be remembered for?
And don’t tell me it’s different because McNair’s mistakes were off the field, while Alomar blundered on the field.
Forty-five years ago we may have looked the other way as JFK screwed his way through the phone book. But today we’re reading lurid emails sent by a South Carolina governor to his Argentinian girlfriend.
Whether it’s the political arena, or Hollywood, or professional lockerrooms, we fans do not draw a line between professional and personal lives.
McNair will be remembered for his performances in both quarters.
Sorry, but Dukes’ explanation is sadly inadequate when he says, “players are human beings, and as such they will make mistakes.”
While that may be true at face value, it doesn’t explain why a mere human being is paid millions of dollars to play football. While McNair’s superhuman football exploits deserved to be remembered, so too do his all-too-human off-the-field exploits. Afterall, when mere humans stray and end up shot, no one remembers them at all.
McNair deserves to be remembered for what he did on the field…and what he failed to do off of it.
Anyone remember Lymon Bostock? What you remeber is that his girlfriend offed him.
I hear that Hitler was pretty good guy until he decided to slaughter million.
I have absolutely no respect for someone that cheats, espically when they have a family, and I think it’s disgusting that it is so common place in sports and is a generally accepted part of the culture.
With that said, if / when / how McNair cheated on his wife, that is between him, his wife, his kids, and the man upstairs.
Does him tagging some 20 year old chicka make him a bad person? Thats debateable.
Does it take away from any of the other great things that he did both off and on the field? no, and that is not debateable.
I’ll also remember him as the greatest tandem parasailer of all time…
I’ll remember him as an above average QB with a decent career off the back of Eddie George who slept around on his wife and got capped because of it. Think that sums it up pretty well.
Some of you throwing stones better not live in glass houses. Not your place to judge a person you don’t know. Xpensive Wino, you are scum for what you wrote.
“CaptainFantastik says:
July 7, 2009 9:52 AM
Oh God, millions of couples have marital problems. In my book this doesn’t tarnish anything. The majority of people on pedestals talking about tarnished legacies are throwing stones from their glass homes.”
NO, because those people’s marital problems are still existing. His STUPIDITY put him with a homicidal maniac and left his kids fatherless.
I will remember McNair as the ultimate Jaguar-slayer. He torturned us every year to the point that I wanted to stop going to the games when TN came to town.
Why he would ever put himself in this circumstance I’ll never know. But those who have said that the last memory is the most vivid are, unfortunately, correct.
When I look back on McNair I’m going to remember the magic on the field, and not the horrible details of the end of all-too-brief life. But I’m afraid I’ll be in the minority.
I thought he was a damn good football player, but that is as far as it goes…..and enough already! Many a better man has lost their life serving their country so guys like McNair could take their life for granted and piss it down the drain. Why does the media glorify people like McNair and MJ? Where is all the media coverage about the brave men and women that lose their lives everyday so we have freedom?
Empty13, you seem to have some kind of pent up hatred inside of you that’s unfathomable. What does that “brother” comment mean? Sounds like you have some racial stick up your ass that’s not even been introduced into this conversation except for by people like you. Could you please elaborate on what you meant by that statement because I don’t want to misconstrue your thoughts, as asinine as they seem.
No one is hero worshipping anyone, but you’re a low life if you’re speaking ill of the dead, You’re a low life if you’re passing judgement on a person when you’re not perfect yourself. you’re a low life if you can’t see why that’s inappropriate at this point, considering the circumstances.
people are just saying have some respect for the dead. You’d want to be afforded the same courtesy for yourself and your loved ones.
jarhead_jed says:
July 7, 2009 10:43 AM
I thought he was a damn good football player, but that is as far as it goes…..and enough already! Many a better man has lost their life serving their country so guys like McNair could take their life for granted and piss it down the drain. Why does the media glorify people like McNair and MJ? Where is all the media coverage about the brave men and women that lose their lives everyday so we have freedom
>>>>>>Never truer words were typed!!
I am sure if the public can remember MJ fondly, they can remember McNair for his major contribution to football. rather then an adulterous indiscretion which is committed fairly regularly in this country.
It’s so wrong to compare McNair to MJackson. McNair was no saint, but he wasn’t gammahooching little boys either.
There is a drastic difference between McNair’s sins and Michael Jackson’s.
Buckner, I agree. Why do all the channels including FNC and those others spend the entire day guessing who is in which Rolls? Meanwhile an Obama advisor just made a statement saying we need another stimulus that is much bigger than the one in February and the one in December.
Bottom Line: It is truly sad his life ended the way it did. 5 years from now I think most people will remember him as a tough NFL QB and that his life was taken prematurely…. not the details of his personal life.
None of us really know how good or bad his marriage was because you CAN’T judge someone if you haven’t walked in their shoes.
Maybe that’s a reason for you to stop watching FNC and the others, ROn. Probably the biggest joke of all of those news channels is that they carry “news” as a part of their names. Those channels are entertainment with commentary on the news, which is why you get the kind of coverage that you do.
turn it off and just read the headlines.
Real Football Fan says:
July 7, 2009 9:10 AM
Those passing judgement on another human being for his shortcomings are funny people. There’s a place waiting in hell for dumb asses like you….
Real Football Fan,
Aren’t you passing judgement on people for passing judgement on people???
RFF, pound sand. quit asking people to love yer ‘brother’ and ignore his errors, sins, mistakes, whatever one wants to call them.
the dead are owed the truth, that’s all. not pretty lies or a cessation of the free speech rights of their critics, whether they be white or not. so quit trying to play pee cee games (cant criticize “the brother”) and gloss over the truth. he thought too much with the little head and got the big one pumped full of lead.
perhaps you have the racial thing up yer own azz and just cant handle that yet another black celeb screwed up quite badly. it is more than a trend…
i dont care what others say about me.
I hope none of you feigning outrage at McNair’s alleged infidelities aren’t Patriots fans. **cough cough Bill Belichick and Sharon Shenocca cough cough**
empty13, what an appropriate screen name for such a miserable low life. Last time I checked, I only have one brother, over in Iraq fighting for a piece of shit like you to have the right to spew your hateful point of view.
Nobody brought up his race in relation to this case or his death except degenerate pieces of shit like you who are overly focused on that fact. That’s not my problem that apparently, the first thing you notice in your little world is insignificant things like race. I don’t and would be asking the same questions if he were white, brown, or green. So stfu.