Why Steve McNair’s New Netflix Documentary, While Informative, Feels Incomplete
The football story of Steve McNair has been told many times. Fans know how he went from a star quarterback at HBCU Alcorn State to a Heisman Trophy finalist and ultimately the No. 3 overall pick in the 1995 NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers.
He led the Tennessee Titans to Super Bowl XXXIV. He was the 2003 NFL co-MVP with Peyton Manning and was considered one of the toughest quarterbacks to play against due to his physical style during 13 seasons with the Oilers/Titans and Baltimore Ravens. His number 9 was retired by the Titans in 2019, and he was inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame (2012) and the College Football Hall of Fame (2020).
But questions surrounding McNair’s death have persisted for more than 15 years.
“Untold: The Murder of Air McNair” is the new Netflix documentary that tells the story of how he became an NFL star and fan favorite, while also exploring the circumstances surrounding his murder on July 4, 2009, in Nashville.
However, the documentary does not offer much more than what has already been said.
A 1998 photo of Steve McNair as a member of the Tennessee Oilers. (Larry McCormack/The Tennessean via Imagn)
The official story from authorities is that McNair was shot to death by his mistress, 20-year-old Sahel “Jenni” Kazemi, who committed suicide alongside him, reportedly over financial worries and the realization that the 36-year-old McNair was having more than one extramarital affair.
Other theories are mentioned, namely that of private detective Vincent Hilla former Nashville police officer who wrote a book detailing the problems he saw in the investigation. The documentary also asks questions about Adrian Gilliam, the convicted felon who sold Kazemi the gun used in the crime.
McNair’s friend, Wayne Neely, discovered the bodies and is seen in the film offering detectives money during questioning. However, it is not explained why a man who was suspected would offer police money.
McNair’s close friend and Alcorn State teammate, Robert Gaddy, discussed a $13,000 dispute involving a business venture with McNair that had put them on shaky terms, but he expressed regret over whether that stopped him from helping McNair. Neely called Gaddy from the scene, and it was Gaddy who called the police.
One of the most poignant moments in the film is when Gaddy talks about the heavy burden of living amid conspiracies that suggested he had something to do with McNair’s death. Out of respect for McNair’s family, which includes his widow Mechelle and his four children, he won’t say anything more about it.
Mechelle is not interviewed in the film.
In the documentary, Jeff Fisher, McNair’s coach at Tennessee, indicated that there were a number of things wrong with McNair’s death, but he would not speculate about what could have led to his death.
The film is less than an hour long, and there was an opportunity to delve deeper into McNair’s post-football story. But hearing so much about McNair the football player sometimes felt out of place. You can’t tell his story without discussing his NFL career, but what Fisher said to McNair after he lost the Super Bowl seemed less important than the conversations they could have had after his career.
What was McNair’s mindset about life after football? Are there any lessons to be learned?
It was assumed that Kazemi discovered another womanLeah Ignagni, who also saw McNair in the days before his death. A tape of Ignagni’s interview with police was played during the film, in which she states that she had only been seeing McNair for a short time and was just having fun with him. However, learning more about this tells us nothing about McNair and his life after football.
Mechelle has spoken candidly in the pastand said she knew there were other people involved with her husband, but she didn’t know Kazemi.
It’s clear that McNair was well-liked. Even Kazemi’s ex-boyfriend, Keith Norfleet, admitted in the documentary that McNair was his favorite player growing up. He discussed the awkwardness of breaking up with Kazemi, only to see her in a relationship with his favorite football player.
But there’s no more to say about why McNair was beloved off the field, which may have helped explain his continued commitment to Nashville after he retired following the 2007 season. I learned more about Norfleet than I did about McNair or Kazemi.
Perhaps it would have been better to let McNair’s football history stand on its own rather than keep rehashing how he died.
(Top photo: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
