McNair's shocking saga still hard to believe

MOUNT OLIVE, Miss. - The shocking news spread first via text and cell phone messages on the Fourth of July holiday.

It was almost too strange and terrible to believe.

Former NFL star Steve McNair had been shot to death. Air McNair, the seemingly indestructible quarterback who had played through all sorts of injuries and pain. The happily married man, a father of four who was smart enough to walk away from the NFL in 2008 while he still could.

Then came uglier news.

He had been killed by a woman he had been dating - one 16 years his junior - who then turned the gun on herself. A week after it happened, as McNair was laid to rest Saturday, friends, relatives and fans still struggle to understand the relationship between young waitress Sahel Kazemi and the former Pro Bowler.

Gloria Allen taught English to McNair in high school here, and chooses to remember a respectful young man who always did his best.

"One mistake doesn't define a life," she said.

It certainly doesn't change what McNair did on the field or his charitable work, which was substantial. What investigators and interviews have revealed does point, however, to a mistake that had disastrous consequences.

McNair noticed Kazemi at the Dave and Buster's restaurant a few months ago and apparently pursued her. Then 19, the waitress was slender but curvy, with long black hair and an olive complexion. Kazemi was so striking two other customers had their photo taken with her within the past month.

The former quarterback was a charismatic figure with virtually everyone he met, but especially to a young woman who dropped out of high school in Florida and moved to Nashville with a boyfriend when she was 17. She often worked up to three jobs to support herself. With McNair, she traveled to Las Vegas, Florida, California and even his home state of Mississippi.

Kazemi was arrested on suspicion of DUI around 1:30 a.m. July 2. McNair was a passenger in the Escalade that morning. He wasn't charged, left the scene in a cab and can be seen in police video walking behind the vehicle. He had been arrested for drunk driving himself twice before - including in 2003 by the same officer who had pulled over Kazemi.

McNair bailed Kazemi out. Hours later, she bought a 9mm semiautomatic pistol in the parking lot during a break from work.

The former quarterback spent most of July 3 fishing with his sons and was alone at a restaurant before he arrived at a condo he shared with a friend sometime around 2 a.m. Soon after, he was dead.

Some who knew McNair still don't think Kazemi killed him. A slight young woman? No way she could have stopped a man massive defenders couldn't slow.

Authorities, however, believe McNair was asleep when Kazemi put the pistol to his head and pulled the trigger. She put two more slugs into his chest and a fourth bullet into the other side of his head before shooting herself. She was laid to rest Friday, in a private family ceremony in Florida.

The Titans, an organization still grieving as well, likely will commemorate McNair in some fashion this season. McNair already is in the team's Hall of Fame and Ring of Honor.

"Now we all need time to heal," Titans coach Jeff Fisher said.