Steve McNair led double life with wife and girlfriend

July 7, 3:06 PMCrime ExaminerCindy Adams

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In this July 24, 1996 file photo, Houston Oilers quarterback Steve McNair warms up during workouts at training camp in San Antonio. McNair, the co-NFL MVP of 2003 who led the Tennessee Titans within a yard of forcing overtime in the 2000 Superbowl and led the Baltimore Ravens to the playoffs, has been shot and killed. Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams confirmed the quarterback's death in a brief statement released Saturday, July 4, 2009. (AP)

Reports indicate that former NFL quarterback, Steve McNair was leading a double life four about six months before he was killed.

It appears his wife, Mechelle, was unaware of the affair he was having with a 20-year-old woman, until he and Sahel Kazemi were found shot to death in McNair’s Nashville, Tenn. condominium on Saturday.

Although McNair reportedly told Kazemi he was divorcing his wife and would marry her, there are no court records to indicate divorce proceedings had begun. Many believed the sale of the McNair family home meant the couple was separating, but their realtor said they were selling their Nashville home to buy a new one by the lake.

McNair and Mechelle were married for 12 years and had four sons. She has been described as distraught, but has not commented on the death of her husband. According to the Charleston Daily Mail, McNair’s brother, Fred, said he had never heard of Kazemi.

Kazemi’s family has a different story to tell, as they were introduced to McNair, believing he and Kazemi were headed toward wedded bliss. Farzin Abdi, Kazemi’s nephew said of his aunt, “She just had it made, you know, this guy taking care of everything.”

According to Abdi, Kazemi told him that McNair was divorcing his wife and it would be final very soon. “I think she had already put her stuff up for sale on Craigslist,” said Abdi.

According to the Daily Mail, earlier this year, McNair and Kazemi took trips to Key West, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. Abdi said, “They were together all the time unless he was taking his kids on vacation.”

Thursday was when things seemed to go wrong for McNair and Kazemi. She was arrested for a DUI but refused a breath test and told an officer she was high, not drunk, according to the arrest affidavit. McNair bailed Kazemi out of jail later that night. Thursday is also when police say Kazemi purchased a gun from a private party.

Mechelle McNair with son Trenton.

The next night, McNair was out with friends, but saw Kazemi later at his condo. The Daily Mail reports that a witness saw Kazemi’s vehicle at the location before McNair arrived between 1:30 and 2 a.m.

The two were found the next day by Wayne Neely, McNair’s roommate. McNair’s death has been ruled a homicide. There was no forced entry into the condo and the gun used in the crime was found under Kazemi’s body, which was on the floor.  Authorities are awaiting ballistics tests to determine if the incident was a murder-suicide, in which Kazemi shot McNair and then turned the gun on herself.

Kazemi was born in Iran, but she and her family left in 2000 due to religious persecution for their Baha’i faith, said Abdi. He said she valued her freedom and told him that McNair admired her independent spirit. 

Sahel Kazemi is shown in this undated booking photo from the Davidson County Sheriff. Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron identified the woman found with former NFL quarterback Steve McNair Saturday July 4, 2009 as 20-year-old Sahel Kazemi, whom he called a "friend" of McNair's. She had a single gunshot wound to the head. The Tennessean. (AP)

“He liked her so much because they would go shopping and stuff and she would want to spend her own money,” said Abdi. “The reason he said he loves her is because she’s not trying to use him like other girls. She was different from other girls he had been with.”

A public memorial for McNair is scheduled to take place in Nashville on Friday.
 

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