McNabb reacts to McNair's death
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McNabb reacts to McNair's death
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Update (2:20 p.m.)
When Donovan McNabb was a rookie with the Eagles in 1999, Steve McNair was leading the Tennessee Titans to the Super Bowl.
Today, the Eagles' quarterback reacted to the stunning news od McNair's death.
"Shocking. Tragic. I can't find many other words to describe what happened to Steve McNair," McNabb said, according to the team's Web site. "He was a good friend to me over the years. My condolences go out to his family."
From earlier:
We'll use this space today to get caught up on more of the details surrounding Steve McNair's death, which shocked the football world Saturday afternoon.
** The woman who was found dead from a single gunshot wound to the head was 20-year-old Sahel Kazemi. According to several published reports, the gun was found near Kazemi's body. The pair was involved in a DUI traffic stop on Thursday, according to the Nashville City Paper. Kazemi had been pulled over while driving an SUV registered to both her and McNair. Per the report, McNair had been approached and threatened at a Nashville restaurant on Friday evening.
** McNair is survived by his wife MeChelle and four sons.
** The Tennessean is calling the death an "apparent murder-suicide" and reports that McNair and Kazemi had been dating for months. According to the article, Kazemi told police she was high and not drunk when they stopped her on Thursday.
** The Tennessean also reports that Wayne Neely, a longtime friend of McNair, found the bodies shortly after 1 p.m.
** Jeff Fisher, visiting troops in the Persian Gulf, talked to The Tennessean about McNair's death:
"I am deeply saddened and at this point do not have the words to describe this loss," Fisher said. “It is an extremely emotional moment and I don’t have the words to explain how I am feeling. I ask people to please pray for Mechelle and the entire McNair family. This is a tragic moment for his family, and it is a tragic moment for anyone who knew and loved Steve."
** Good, succinct commentary by Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle:
I don’t know what happened to McNair. I don’t know the circumstances of his death. I just know there are layers to all of us, that none of us is perfect, that it’s foolish to paint someone with a single brush. I also know Steve McNair cared about people and performed brilliantly and courageously on the football field. In the ways we should measure a professional athlete, there were few better than McNair. I know he touched a lot of people in the right way, and today their hearts are breaking.
** Redskins quarteback Jason Campbell, also a Mississipi native, had this to say about McNair, according to The Washington Post:
"The whole black quarterback thing, it's like a fraternity," Campbell said. "Guys who played before you pass the torch down to younger guys. You always keep in contact with those guys who came before you. You try to keep in contact with them and learn as much as possible from them. Losing a guy like that from our fraternity ... it hurts because of how much you looked up to him. He's definitely one of the guys I looked up to. A lot of other guys looked up to him to. It's just a real hard day."
I remember being in Baltimore when the Ravens acquired McNair. A team with a top-notch defense that was looking to fill the void at QB. I was at Camden Yards when he threw out the first pitch at an Orioles game and was introduced to the Baltimore fans. He led the Ravens to a 13-3 record in his first season before they fell to the Colts in the playoffs.
As I said yesterday, feel free to share your thoughts and memories of McNair, or pass along good links that I might have missed.
I see that Jason Campbell is a racist.. looks at people base on their color.— bobbyd24- Mcnair was one of the top QBs of his era no matter the color. The odds he had to overcome is just another example of his toughness on and off the field. This is guy who like countless other superior athletes who were asked to play DB in order to allow the less talented stiff to play QB. He had to go to a historically black university just to prove himself at QB. No doubt he is a role model and example to so many young talented athletes out there who dare desire to play the QB spot.— mongoS
- Yes minorities will continue to progress as long as the system permits (and requires) that to occur. And yes, I have worked in a technological field for more than 25 years. Advancing any group of people becasue of race, creed, religion, etc will weaken the organization. The BEST should advance irrespective of race. The Polich didn't need special rules ot assist them - not the Italians or the Irish. Sleep well knowing that you needed help to compete in society.— Bobphxville
- The fraternity that Campbell is talking about is due to a racist society that carried over to the football field. While white society adjusted somewhat and allowed blacks to play football there still was then and still in more subtle ways today a resistance to allow blacks to play the qb spot. Obviously when athletes of color have in common the fact they kicked down this barrier a natural bond is formed.— mongoS
- A racist biggest nightmare is a level playing field that goes back to slavery when the slave master wouldn’t allow the slaves to read or write. It goes back to sports when the bigger, stronger and faster athletes couldn’t compete on the same field. It goes back to segregation when kids couldn’t get access to a quality education. Racism is systematic and in every fiber of what this country was built on.— mongoS
- mix strong emotions with guns and you get this. No reason to ban guns but something has to give and people need to stop this type of violence. Life would have moved on and been just fine for both I am sure but now....nothing.— foment3
- Hey, here's a thought. Keep it in your pants.— cm3737
Comment removed.- I still think Steve McNair should have won the 1994 Heisman Trophy during his Senior year at Alcorn State. He was phenomenal, but just didn't get enough exposure that year. I believe he finished third in the voting behind the winner Rashaan Salaam (Colorado) and the runner-up Ki-Jana Carter (Penn State).— TripleOption
- I enjoyed watching McNair in Houston, sorry to hear about this....to the NASA side bar...a Nanny state cannot do great things, too afraid of failure and death.— Joe Funk
- Comment removed.
- Truth be told, a man his age should have been home with his kids. Not out at a club or with a woman almost half his age. This horrible murder is not a reflection on a man's race, but a reflection on man's priorities. No one will learn from this and his murder will be in vain.— thefeature
- We can do without all of you racist (black and white), there is no room for you idiots, a man was killed and all you can think of is going back and forth with this race thing, you all are sad excuses for human beings. Me, I'm sorry the man is dead, and I'm sorry the woman thought (if indeed she was the doer) she had to resort to violence to settle whatever it was she needed settled. Saw Steve in a few games, seemed to be a good QB, it's apparent that his teamates and fans in Tennessee thought the same. May both their souls rest in peace.— FireChief
- Not sure why you think that we (sports fans) care what a sports figure thinks about things that go on in the world. We care that they perform well in whatever sport they happen to play and help our teams get to the playoffs and possibly win a championship. Guess we'll be finding out what Shane Victorino thinks about pineapples, what Mike Richards thinks about the composites of a hockey puck and whether or not the making of them contributes to global warming and someone please find out if Andre Miller won't take a one year contract because he doesn't like Philly Cheesesteaks or soft pretzels. Keep your reporting to our major sports please!!! I didn't write this to say anything against the deaths of M. Jackson or Steve McNair, far from it, sorry they are both gone and hope that they rest in peace, but I really don't care what a sports person thinks about these type of things...— FireChief
- Bobpunxvile is an ignorant racist coward. I'll bet he would never say half the stuff he's saying on here if he had to tell an African American that in person. His comments are best when ignored!
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