McNair's Legacy Shouldn't Be One Mistake

He was a tired, broken man. His tone showed the anguish inside. It was the type of grief that only comes when you lose someone close.

When Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher stepped up to the microphone, every football fan listened to what he had to say.

"The Steve McNair that I knew would want me to say, I'm sorry," he said, elegantly. "I'm not perfect. We all make decisions sometimes that are not the best interest. Please forgive me."

Of all the things Fisher said Monday, that struck a chord. The difficult thing is McNair will never get the chance to articulate those words himself.

The tragedy in McNair's untimely death is that it's unique. We've discovered dirty little secrets from megastars of music, movie and sport. We've seen the reputations of our megastars shit on a dime.

Michael Jackson. Mel Gibson. Manny Ramirez. The list could extend for miles. It's become an expected part of stardom.

But we've never seen it like this.

We're faced with a fork in the road in how we view one of football's dearly loved individuals. But he's not around to speak on his own behalf. He's not around to explain himself.

Until McNair's death, the public perception painted him as a squeaky-clean family man who gave as much to the world as the world had given to him. We know better now.

It's a damn shame McNair's extramarital affair is threatening to overshadow his innocent death. (And it was an innocent death. It's preposterous and ignorant to think he deserved what he got because he committed adultery.) But I understand why there's mixed feelings about Air McNair right now. In our minds, we like to paint a pretty portrait of our megastars. We like to think they exude the same grace and excellence in life as they do in competition.

It's a naïve train of thought.

I'm not saying I condone the McNair affair. I'm bitterly disappointed in it, too. I wish like hell 'the Steve McNair I knew' would've died in a more dignified manner. But real life doesn't always play like a Hollywood script. The hero doesn't always save the day.

Perhaps that's what makes McNair's death the saddest sports event I've ever seen. Perhaps that's why it's taken me four days to begin writing. I'm grieving like everyone else. My heart is broken not only over the loss of an innocent life, but also the death of a reputation.

But we do have a choice to make.

"The Steve McNair that I knew was a great person," Fisher said. "He put this organization on the map here in Tennessee. He put us in our first Super Bowl. ... I will miss him, as you all will miss him. And I ask you to honor what he did on the field and in the community, what he was as a tremendous teammate.

"And that is a legacy."

Fisher concluded his press conference saying he was proud to be a part of that legacy. It's difficult, but I'm choosing to look at the great things McNair did instead of what he didn't. I'm going to celebrate his life instead of mourn the way he died.

I'm going to follow Fisher down the same path he gracefully started to walk Monday.