Air McNair Has Been Grounded

The Kufere Laing Lounge

As the facts concerning the tragic death of NFL quarterback Steve McNair continue to spill out, an interesting dilemma has arisen. Some feel McNair should be judged based upon his feats in life opposed to his faults (here's ESPN's Jemele Hill's take). Others feel that the recent allegations which have come out in the wake of McNair's death must be factored in when judging him (here's what Jay Mariotti had to say). Either way, McNair had us all fooled.

Over the course of his career, McNair was said to be a warrior, a great leader, and the ultimate leader on the field; off the field McNair gave back to his community, opened up a restaurant, and gave life to the Tennessee Titans franchise which had just moved from Houston, all while serving as an icon in the Nashville, Tennessee area. With this image, McNair was seen as the ultimate professional athlete, the role model off the field, and the all-star on the field. For his entire career, he was able to stay out of the news for the wrong things, which has made his death so shocking.

Due to the fact that the public had no idea about McNair's "other" life, a new question arises, how much should the public know? Due to camera phones, the internet, and the constant stream of news that flows into our Blackberrys, Sidekicks, iPhones, ect. few things celebrities do are left unnoticed. However, a good portion of the "news" concerning celebrities often isn't news. There have been news reports about everything from Tom Brady bringing his wife flowers to A-Rod possibly in a relationship with Madonna. At what point is the line drawn?

While the recent news concerning McNair's girlfriend is actually noteworthy because it pertains McNair's death. There a lots of news stories which go deep into the lives of professional athletes, robbing them of any kind of privacy in addition to dehumanizing the athletes. The "line" of newsworthy separating and nebby are often crossed by obnoxious reporters often confusing news, with their own personal curiosity and in the process making another persons life much more difficult or depressing (Selena Roberts are you reading?). Because McNair's personal life was kept from the masses (until this weekend's tragic event), it allowed for everyone to focus on the great things he did in his life. After all, isn't that the way it should be?

Note--the picture was taken from the sports blog http://passtheword.wordpress.com/