ESPN on legacy of McNair - what do you think??

[Junkyard Dawg]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4311808

Anybody else think its an inappropriate time to be talking about the "legacy" of a man who was just murdered, and was by almost all accounts a decent person?  Do you think there would ever be an article like this about Brady or McNabb or one of the "favored sons" of the NFL?

[clover]

I think a fair position would be that he shouldn't be judged--because certainly none of us is perfect--but he shouldn't be worshipped and held up as a role model either.  Your average noncelebrity who stays true to and doesn't humiliate his or her spouse might be a more appropriate role model than an athlete who is known to have gone out early, leaving his wife and four sons, because of the fallout from his multiple mistresses.

[gustusias]

Another male potz! How many of us are like him? Too many.  His death to me just says who he really was. A whoring male with family and kids who went too far over the line. My estimation of him as a human being is not a good one.

[nickagneta]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4311808

Anybody else think its an inappropriate time to be talking about the "legacy" of a man who was just murdered, and was by almost all accounts a decent person?  Do you think there would ever be an article like this about Brady or McNabb or one of the "favored sons" of the NFL?

His wife and kids might want to have something to say about the whole "decent person" part of your post.

It's good to try to think well of the recently departed but to make over what they actually were as people because of something they did in sports or music or entertainment is wrong.

McNair was by all accounts an awful husband and not great father and may not have been the a stellar person. Michael Jackson was accused multiple times of being a pedophile and did some strange things in the upbringing of his children. There are a bunch of other examples of people who were known to the public in one capacity and then grieved tremendously as great people because of their public accomplishments when in reality, in private, they weren't great people.

What happened to McNair was a tragedy but no more a tragedy than what happened to his wife and kids.

[KungPoweChicken]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4311808

Anybody else think its an inappropriate time to be talking about the "legacy" of a man who was just murdered, and was by almost all accounts a decent person?  Do you think there would ever be an article like this about Brady or McNabb or one of the "favored sons" of the NFL?

His wife and kids might want to have something to say about the whole "decent person" part of your post.

It's good to try to think well of the recently departed but to make over what they actually were as people because of something they did in sports or music or entertainment is wrong.

McNair was by all accounts an awful husband and not great father and may not have been the a stellar person. Michael Jackson was accused multiple times of being a pedophile and did some strange things in the upbringing of his children. There are a bunch of other examples of people who were known to the public in one capacity and then grieved tremendously as great people because of their public accomplishments when in reality, in private, they weren't great people.


What happened to McNair was a tragedy but no more a tragedy than what happened to his wife and kids.

So McNair is now a loathsome human because he may or may not have cheated? Wow, I don't even know what to say. I mean, are you really comparing someone who was murdered to a wife whose husband cheated on in terms of tragicalness?

[nickagneta]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4311808

Anybody else think its an inappropriate time to be talking about the "legacy" of a man who was just murdered, and was by almost all accounts a decent person?  Do you think there would ever be an article like this about Brady or McNabb or one of the "favored sons" of the NFL?

His wife and kids might want to have something to say about the whole "decent person" part of your post.

It's good to try to think well of the recently departed but to make over what they actually were as people because of something they did in sports or music or entertainment is wrong.

McNair was by all accounts an awful husband and not great father and may not have been the a stellar person. Michael Jackson was accused multiple times of being a pedophile and did some strange things in the upbringing of his children. There are a bunch of other examples of people who were known to the public in one capacity and then grieved tremendously as great people because of their public accomplishments when in reality, in private, they weren't great people.


What happened to McNair was a tragedy but no more a tragedy than what happened to his wife and kids.

So McNair is now a loathsome human because he may or may not have cheated? Wow, I don't even know what to say. I mean, are you really comparing a murder to a cheater in terms of tragicalness?

Did I say anything that you said I did or are you reading something into what I'm saying that isn't there?

And sorry, but as a family guy, yes, I find it loathsome when men cheat on their wives and deprive the kids of good family time and upbringing with a father because the man is too busy thinking about his penis.

It's a tragedy what happened to McNair. I said that. I don't see what is so hard to understand there.

But it is no less a tragedy when a man cheats on his wife and subjects them and their kids to the mental cruelty and stress that those situations cause. Also, because McNair decided to cheat on his family with a suicidal murderer, he has deprived them of having him in their life helping to support them for the rest of their lives.

His murder is tragic for the people he left behind as well.

All I was saying is McNair is no saint so let's not make him out to be one.

[Rondo2287]

I agree, two people died, but the real victims here are McNair's kids.  The police said he spent so much time at his condo with the girl that people thought they lived together.  Thats great parenting

[KungPoweChicken]

Are people really trying to say his kids are the "real victims", when McNair was shot multiple times in the head? How terribly disrespectful and ignorant that is.

[Rondo2287]

Ya, the kids have no father for the rest of their lives and they had no father as long as their dad was living with, vacationing with, and out buying a waitress an escalade.  They are the victims.  And I dont consider myself disrespectful or ignorant.

[nickagneta]

Are people really trying to say his kids are the "real victims", when McNair was shot multiple times in the head? How terribly disrespectful and ignorant that is.

Why?

Why is that ignorant?

Please explain that?

I have kids. If I get murdered is it any less a tragedy for my kids that I am not around to be there for them for the rest of their lives?

[yall hate]

I think ESPN is right in pointing out that a potential flaw in an otherwise 'good' person might have led to his downfall.  had that flaw not been present, he likely would still be alive today.

When someone dies, I dont think the media needs to pretend like there are no flaws in the individual and take an overly flattering view of the person (like what is being done with Michael Jackson...Despite being an incredibly talented musician, prior to his dying, his wacky antics and pedophiliac past - whether deserved or not, I am not going there, were major parts of who he was and how he was percieved.  but now that he has passed - likely from a drug overdose or some relation to the massive amounts of drugs, people are ignoring any flaw.  it is disingenuous and fake...I am glad that ESPN is at least pointing out flaws.)

[connerhenry43]

Are people really trying to say his kids are the "real victims", when McNair was shot multiple times in the head? How terribly disrespectful and ignorant that is.

Why?

Why is that ignorant?

Please explain that?

I have kids. If I get murdered is it any less a tragedy for my kids that I am not around to be there for them for the rest of their lives?

JYD, very interesting topic, and there is no one on the planet who loves to bash ESPN more than me, but there is nothing at all wrong with this article. And the thought that Steve McNair was not one of the “favored sons” of ESPN is insane. My roommates and I used to laugh every Sunday. The name McNair could not be brought up without a lingering tribute to his toughness. He was a tough player and a very good QB who I liked a lot, but ESPN would try to outdo itself every Sunday with praise of McNair. We used to laugh and joke and say he must be the only player in the NFL who sustained any sort of injury every Sunday.
And a TP for nickagenta. I do not care if you are a superstar QB or an average Joe like me, when you are married that is the end of fooling around. And that is even more true when you have children. I would be naïve to think McNair was the only athlete who was fooling around on his wife, but this is not like cheating on a girlfriend. This is marriage. What he did was wrong.
The last line of the article says it best:
"I don't know what he was doing," Price says. "But he didn't deserve to die."
I was a big McNair fan (even though I am a Patriots fan). He was a great player and by all accounts, a very decent and generous person. He did not deserve to die because of what he was doing, but it cannot hide the fact that his lifestyle will affect his legacy.
As for the Michael Jackson comparisons, they are legit, but here is the difference. McNair’s choices led directly to his death. Michael Jackson, and whatever went on with his involvement with children, had nothing to do with his death. And yes, pedophilia is a much worse crime than adultery, it is not even close. But the difference is the adultery led to McNair’s death (at least that is certainly how it appears at this moment) while Jackson’s alleged involvement with children (and keep in mind, he has never been convicted of anything) had nothing to do with his passing.
All that said, RIP Steve McNair, you were a great player and will be missed by all NFL fans.

[CelticWes34]

I don't think McNair deserved to die or anything, really, but this would have never happened if he wasn't out cheating on his wife. Simple as that. And how do you think his wife feels having to tell their children WHY their father died?

[CelticsWhat35]

I don't think the circumstances that led to McNair's death should be ignored, but at the same time, I find it pretty apalling that some people feel like it's less of a tragedy because of how he died.  The bottom line is that a man died through no fault of his own.  You can disagree with adultery all you want.  I could never imagine cheating on my wife, but to imply that he brought this on himself is asinine.  None of us know the circumstances.  From all accounts, not even McNair's closest friends knew anything about this girl.  So to make accusations about his parenting skills and the like are ignorant.  You can say he was ultimately a bad husband for cheating on his wife, but do mistakes he made for a few months totally wipe out what he did for 36 years??  Maybe this wasn't the only time he cheated on his wife.  It probably wasn't, but none of us know that.  And it's unfair to throw blanket accusations about the man's life without knowing all the facts.

[nickagneta]

I don't think the circumstances that led to McNair's death should be ignored, but at the same time, I find it pretty apalling that some people feel like it's less of a tragedy because of how he died.  The bottom line is that a man died through no fault of his own.  You can disagree with adultery all you want.  I could never imagine cheating on my wife, but to imply that he brought this on himself is asinine.  None of us know the circumstances.  From all accounts, not even McNair's closest friends knew anything about this girl.  So to make accusations about his parenting skills and the like are ignorant.  You can say he was ultimately a bad husband for cheating on his wife, but do mistakes he made for a few months totally wipe out what he did for 36 years??  Maybe this wasn't the only time he cheated on his wife.  It probably wasn't, but none of us know that.  And it's unfair to throw blanket accusations about the man's life without knowing all the facts.

Who ever said it was less of a tragedy?

It's a tragedy. Many of us just feel it's as large of a tragedy for his family and that we shouldn't be painting this guy into being some kind of saint when his extra curricular activities in cheating on his wife and family DIRECTLY lead to his death.