My Thoughts on Steve McNair's Legacy

I won't sit here and say that I followed Steve McNair's post NFL career. He kept that pretty low key. By all accounts he remained strong in his community, and was heavily involved in charity work. News of Steve McNair off the field was rare. We all know how adverse the media seems to be to reporting positive things done by athletes. There is one aspect of his life that nobody really knows anything about, and that's his personal life. The question is, given what has recently been uncovered in his personal life, how will he be remembered?

Any fan of football remembers Steve McNair playing through injuries, getting up after every brutal hit he took. He was tough as nails on the field, and was on his way to becoming a genuine legend at his position. He took the Titans to their only superbowl appearance, and nearly engineered a great comeback. He frustrated defenses with his ability to evade them, and stand in the pocket till the last possible minute. It's safe to say he gave defensive coordinators fits before game day. He was good enough to be named MVP in the 2003 season along with Peyton Manning. That's pretty good company to be in.

Off the field, he was a class act by all accounts. Unfortunately, he was still human. Just a man at that. We don't know the nature of his relationship with his wife. We don't know if they were having problems at home, and if so, for how long. That still doesn't excuse him having the affair if he was still married. We do know that he had 4 children. I want to reference Jason Whitlock's thoughts on this. To paraphrase him, he said you can't be a part time father. He's right. Especially when you have 4 children looking up to you and you are a famous athlete. Every move you make has to be measured, and unfortunately you have to think of yourself last. No matter how good you think you are, and how strong you think your pimp game may be, the media has proven to be stronger and sneakier than anyone. Let's not forget about any haters you may have who are just drooling at the chance to bring you down. You have to realize that once the media catches you slipping, they will be on you like vultures on a rotten carcass. I'm sure that the media will take it a bit easier on him in light of the tragedy of his death.

Steve McNair should be remembered for his heroics and grit on the field as well as his charity off the field. He will be mentioned with some of the best quarterbacks the league has had, if only for a moment. Unfortunately, until the motive behind his murder has been solved there is a risk that we will be saturated with details of his affair more than anything. His weakness as a man will become the first thing mentioned when his name is brought up. The fact that he was spending more time with a woman 16 years younger than him than with his own family will be what's talked about first. I personally will question his focus and his judgment when it comes to his actions with "Jenny". His choices to buy her an Escalade in both of their names, to spend so much time at the condo he bought for her that neighbors thought he lived there, and his initial choice to just start dating her make me wonder what was really going on at home with his wife.

You don't just decide to stray from your wife and family. This man, this football player, this father, will now have his name tarnished and dragged in the mud by some. He won't be able to tell his side of this story. His children will have to live the rest of their lives wondering why their father did this to their mother and consequently to them. Jemele Hill of espn.com believes that "he has done too much and meant too much. A flaw doesn't define any one person, and this one shouldn't eliminate all the good works McNair has done or what his storied NFL career meant for the advancement of other black quarterbacks." I agree. But I must add that unfortunately in this society that loves drama, that will be a dominant part of his legacy now. It's a good thing that he had built up a very positive body of work prior to this one slip, this one giving in to temptation.