The sensational murder of Steve McNair will tarnish the veteran quarterback's legacy in the eyes of fans, former Ravens coach Brian Billick said Monday.
McNair, who played under Billick in 2006 and 2007, was shot and killed Saturday in Nashville, Tenn. Married for 12 years, he was found dead near a 20-year-old woman whom police say he had been dating. While McNair's death has been ruled a homicide, police have not classified her death.
"That is unfortunate because Steve was a man who did so many good things in both this community and in Nashville that deserves to be thought of in better terms," Billick told WNST, a radio station that he partly owns. Billick declined to talk to The Baltimore Sun.
Billick added: "It's a life lesson for all of us that all it takes is conduct in a certain way to wipe all that out. 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."
When Billick first heard about McNair's death, he thought about the effect it would have on the quarterback's family. Billick granted special privileges to McNair so he could fly back to Nashville after games and spend a couple of days with his family throughout the season.
McNair, 36, had four sons (ages ranging from 17 to 5). He married his wife, Mechelle, in 1997.
"I think it's a constant reminder to fans that these guys are human," Billick said. "They are vulnerable to make mistakes and this obviously became exacerbated, although this is as extreme a case as you're going to find."
A memorial service will be held Thursday in Whites Creek, Tenn. Ravens wide receiver Derrick Mason, McNair's close friend and longtime teammate, is scheduled to speak.
McNair's funeral is Saturday in Hattiesburg, Miss., where Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome will attend.
Since McNair's murder, the details of his personal life have drawn more attention than his decorated football career.
Photos posted on TMZ.com show McNair gazing and smiling at his girlfriend, Sahel Kazemi, during a recent vacation that included parasailing. The family of Kazemi said McNair talked about divorcing his wife. The New York Daily News is reporting that McNair's wife had no knowledge of a girlfriend.
Friends, teammates and coaches have said the tragic circumstances surrounding his death stand in stark contrast to his public persona.
