Fifteen years ago, former NFL quarterback Steve McNair was killed. He was only 36 years old.
The official explanation was that McNair was murdered by his 20-year-old girlfriend, Jenny Kazemi, and that she then committed suicide.
The story always felt incomplete. Suspicions remained that it was a double homicide made to look like a murder-suicide. Six years ago, SI.com launched a nine-part podcast series about crime.
The third overall pick in the 1995 draft out of Alcorn State, McNair spent 13 years in the NFL. He played for 11 seasons with the Oilers and Titans before finishing his career in 2006 and 2007 with the Ravens.
He led the Titans to an appearance in Super Bowl XXXIV, nearly forcing overtime against the Rams with a late drive that ended with receiver Kevin Dyson being tackled just before a touchdown.
McNair shared the 2003 MVP award with Peyton Manning. He had over 31,000 career passing yards and appeared in 161 regular season games with 153 starts.
He is a member of the Titans Ring of Honor, and his number 9 is retired by the team.
If you haven’t seen it yet, the episode of A life of football dedicated to McNair it’s worth watching.
