As most of you know, NFL great Steve McNair lost his life on the 4th of July when his mistress, aka jumpoff, allegedly shot him before turning the gun on herself. He was 37.
The star quarterback played 13 seasons in the NFL with the Tennesse Titans and two years with the Baltimore Ravens before retiring last year.
McNair was found slumped on a sofa in the living room of his rented condo in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. He was shot four times – twice in the head and twice in the chest. His 20-year-old mistress, Sahel Kazemi, was sprawled on the floor a few feet from his body. The murder weapon was found under her.
Kazemi, known to her family and friends as Jenny, had plans to marry the professional ball player whom she had been dating openly for months. He promised her the world. But even though the McNair’s $3 million home was up for sale, there is no evidence that a divorce was filed in Nashville, where McNair lived with his wife Mechelle and their four sons.
Americans tend to glamorize professional athletes and place them on a pedestal so high they are virtually out of reach. These athletes can do no wrong in the eyes of their adoring fans who often look the other way when the athlete runs afoul of the law. The rules for professional athletes don’t apply to normal folk like you and me.
That is why when an elite athlete of McNair’s caliber is toppled from his throne in such a public manner bringing shame and dishonor to his city — the praise, eulogies and tributes are endless. His football stats are repeated ad nauseam. There’s barely any mention of his indiscretions. And no life lessons to be taught to his adoring child fans.
The life of a professional athlete has its upside: the large salaries, the flashy lifestyle, and the women. As I’ve written so many times in the past, it is extremely difficult for the married baller to turn down the advances of a beautiful Kim Kardashian-type woman.
So many of our women are comfortable in the knowledge that their men would never cheat on them. And so many women are proven wrong.
McNair didn’t just cheat, he violated his vows in the most reprehensible way. He showed extremely poor judgment by courting and dating a waitress who wasn’t even old enough to drink. There are rumors that he paid the rent on her Nashville apartment and was putting her through medical school.
McNair met the then 19-year-old Kazemi at the Dave & Buster’s his family frequented in Nashville. Kazemi exchanged numbers with McNair after serving his wife and children dinner. Family and friends of Kazemi recalled the trips, dinners and expensive gifts he bought her. Before giving her the Escalade, McNair let her have the keys to his Bentley.
Neighbors of Kazemi say they saw McNair at her apartment so often they thought he lived there. For her 20th birthday in May, McNair bought Kazemi a late model Cadillac Escalade. Last Thursday, the police pulled them over in that Escalade. Kazemi had been driving erratically and she reeked of alcohol.
Still, she refused to take a breath test, saying, “I’m not drunk, I’m high.” The cop said she was belligerent and running off at the mouth — spoiled by her rich, famous boyfriend into believing she was as above the law as he was. Kazemi was arrested on the spot for suspicion of DUI.
McNair, the passenger in the Escalade, was allowed to leave the scene in a taxi. Despite the fact that he was legally liable for the underage drunk driver at the wheel. Once again, his celebrity status got him off the hook.
Meanwhile, across town, McNair’s wife Mechelle McNair was holed up in their 14,000 sq. ft. mansion with their four sons. Married for 12 years, the couple hadn’t spoken to each other in two days. Police say when Mechelle heard the news of her husband’s homicide she was “distraught” and “in and out of it.”
McNair promised Mechelle the world 12 years ago. He gave her all the material wealth she could ask for. He put her through nursing school and bragged that she had her own career. All the while he cheated on her every chance he got.
All professional athletes wives have stories to tell about the groupies on the road. Many of the wives were once groupies themselves. They know the game well. Some athletes’ wives put up with cheating dogs as long as their husbands are discreet and their AMEX black card is not declined at Neiman Marcus.
But even one-time groupies have their limits. When another woman’s child is brought into the picture, the NFL ballers and their wives usually agree to an amicable divorce citing irreconcilable differences. The wife gets custody of the kids and all the material possessions they amassed during their marriage. Her life comes full circle as she sets her sights on another baller.
The glamorous life of the NFL baller usually doesn’t end this way. At the hands of his immature mistress, who was barely an adult with nothing to lose.
ESPN and Tenessean.com
