I’ve been hearing a lot about Steve McNair on Cable TV and sports talk radio, plus have read quite a bit about him in the Internet since the news of his untimely death at the hands of his girlfriend — Sahel Kazemi — in a murder-suicide, according to police.
Well, there’s been a lot of talk about him as a “hero”, “role model”, “great athlete” and what not as well as talk about him as person whose choices in life led to his death. Really, I am not a fan of the Ravens, nor of the Titans — where McNair played for yeas before he came to Baltimore — however, I did respect him as an athlete, and an incredible competitor.
That’s where my admiration for him ends. I didn’t know McNair, never met him, nor really follow him that closely, and there are many people who say, “don’t judge the man”; however, the tragic circumstances of his death will lead many to question his judgment.
Moreover, you have to wonder where his mind was and for us as sports fans, wonder “who he was a person…”
The answer is we didn’t know who McNair was, and never did unless we were in the locker room or knew him intimately. I don’t know the athlete lifestyle, nor can imagine it, but I have only admired them for what they do on the field, not off of it — and I certainly have never looked towards one — whether as a kid or an adult — for guidance or as a parable to live my life.
I guess in the end, that’s the dangerous thing about hero worship, we get this conceived notion of who a person is because we are they are seen on the field or through the small screen. We grow love them, because as fans, we want to live through them and they bring civic pride to our cities, but we all want to be close to greatness; however, we may not like what we see if we get too close. I’ve seen it in person, and it can be startling.
Steve McNair was a great athlete, who gave his money and time for causes, but certainly not a hero in any sense of the word. He was human, and a mistake in judgment perhaps cost him his life. He broke a certain moral code; in fact, for many a holy commandment, and for him to excused from it is kind of puzzling — but again, it happens a lot. I mean, why is the divorce rate in America close to fifty percent?
I have to think of what his wife and children (four of them) must going through. In the end, hero worship can be dangerous and can disillusion us as to what image is really about, but why do we worship athletes as much as we do?
The designation of a hero should be of a person who is willing sacrifice his or herself for community or a cause; therefore, just because one can throw a football well doesn’t make someone a hero, much less a role model.
Maybe we’ll learn a lesson from this, but history has shown us again and again — no.
