Acting · 1973–2009 · Mount Olive, Mississippi, USA
Stephen LaTreal McNair (February 14, 1973 – July 4, 2009), nicknamed 'Air McNair' was an American professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He started his first two seasons with the Houston Oilers before the team relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, becoming the first franchise quarterback of the Tennessee Titans. He also played for two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens.
He played college football for the Alcorn State Braves, with whom he won the 1994 Walter Payton Award as the top player in NCAA Division I-AA. McNair was selected third overall by the Oilers in the 1995 NFL draft. He started six games in his first two seasons combined before becoming the team's regular starting quarterback for the 1997 season, and remained the starting quarterback for the Titans through 2005. After the 2005 season, he was traded to the Ravens, with whom he played for two seasons before retiring.
He appeared in the playoffs four times with the Titans, including their run to Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000, and made his final playoff appearance in 2006 with the Ravens. He was selected to the Pro Bowl thrice, and was an All-Pro and Co-MVP in 2003. He was the first African-American quarterback to win AP NFL MVP and remains, along with Cam Newton, Patrick Mahomes, and Lamar Jackson, only one of four to win the award.
He opened his own restaurant in Nashville, which he named Gridiron9. He is a cousin of NFL linebacker Demario Davis.
He was married to Mechelle McNair from June 21, 1997, until his death. McNair split his time between a farm in Mississippi and Nashville, Tennessee. McNair had two sons with Mechelle: Tyler and Trenton; and two sons – Stephen Jr. and Steven O'Brian – with two other women before he and Mechelle married.
On July 4, 2009, McNair was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds, along with the body of a 20-year-old woman named Sahel 'Jenni' Kazemi, in a condominium rented by McNair in downtown Nashville. They had been involved with each other romantically. The Nashville police declared McNair's death a murder-suicide, with Kazemi as the perpetrator and McNair as the victim.
The Titans held a two-day memorial at LP Field on July 8 and 9, 2009, where fans could pay their last respects to McNair. During the 2009 NFL season, every member of the Titans wore a commemorative "9" sticker placed on the back of their helmet to honor McNair.