Questions About Kazemi Relationship With Gilliam Continue

((HT: Tennessean/Howard))
Armen Keteyian's piece on CBS News reported that Kazemi and Adrian Gilliam Jr., had not just known each other for a few weeks but we’re exchanging phone calls almost daily and hundreds of text messages in the weeks before she died.

"Gilliam has been interviewed more than once, and due to the pending criminal matter against Gilliam, law enforcement is not at liberty to discuss the statements,” Metro police spokesman Don Aaron said.

The US Attorney's Office, pretty much, said the same thing...

WTVF-TV/Newschannel5's Ben Hall got to travel around town to get varying degrees of insightful sound on the Keteyian piece...


Here's Part 2 of the Keteyian story from "The Early Show"

Those of us at OSG HQ are still waiting for all the answers...

Keteyian: Metro Case On McNair Has Holes

We're just going to let this go on its own merit and investigation for now...
It was on CBS' "The Early Show"

Here's Part One

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Metro police defend their position- naturally...

Spokesman Don Aaron told WKRN-TV that CBS must not have considered proceedings during Gilliam's guilty plea in Nashville Federal Court, when the suspect stipulated in a statement-of-fact that his gun was sold to Kazemi on July 3, the day before the murder-suicide.

Aaron said originally investigators believed the purchase was made on July 2 because of what they were told initially during interviews. He said the date was later updated during subsequent interviews.

He said the initial error of when Kazemi purchased the gun "does not make any difference" because both dates came after the DUI arrest, and remain consistent with police beliefs that she was despondent over her relationship endings with McNair.

Here's News2's story from Monday
Chris Bungaard got to stand outside LP Field in Nashville for his report...


Those of us at OSG HQ tend to back up Brad Hopkins on this one...
No, a lot of things don't make sense- still- four months later...
We still have questions on logistics and such, but Keteyian's Part Two better come with the hammer... or it's sound and fury signifying nothing...

Good News, Bad News On McNair Front

First, the bad...

Since Steve McNair died without a will, his widow Mechelle is having to fight through the Probate process to get what belongs to the family...

There's a lesson there, people...
Here's your update from WKRN-TV/News 2 in Nashville
Bob Mueller has the lead story...

Now the good news...

Vince Young did a really classy thing the other day...

Jim Wyatt's article in the Tennessean tells us that Young filled in for McNair as a father figure for his two younger son's pancake breakfast for their christian academy's "Dear Dad's Breakfast."

Vince took Trenton and Tyler out- nicely done...

"It was a great, great gesture,'' said Julie Dilworth, admissions director at St. Paul Christian Academy. "All the kids had been talking about the dads' breakfast and (Trenton and Tyler) were wondering what was going to happen with them.
"They were thrilled … the boys came to school with huge smiles on their faces.''

Gilliam Pleads Not Guilty In McNair Gun Charge

((HT: Tennessean/Carey))

Adrian J. Gilliam Jr., the man accused of selling the pistol used to kill former Tennessee Titan Steve McNair, has pled not guilty to federal gun charges.

In July, Gilliam told authorities that he sold a semiautomatic 9 mm handgun to Sahel Kazemi- the woman associated with pulling the trigger.

Gilliam, 33, is charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. In 1993 he was convicted second-degree murder and attempted robbery in Florida.

He entered his not guilty plea this morning after a formal reading of the charges in court.

More when we know more...

McNair was Intoxicated When Killed

The Assistant State Medical Examiner in Tennessee has published the toxicology report on Steve McNair at the time he was shot and killed and the report was...well a bit surprising.


McNair's Blood Alcohol level was listed as being around a .16 which is twice the amount considered an impairment to drive. The woman who killed McNair and then herself, Sahel Kazemi had a small amount of Marijuana in her system as well.

The story from the Tennessean here .

It doesn't totally explain what happened in the apartment that morning/overnight, but it may explain why McNair was soundly sleeping on the couch at the time he was shot. As for Kazemi, she was arrested for DUI only a couple of days before and in the video of the traffic stop admitted she wasn't drunk, she was high.

Did "Tennessean" Kill McNair Story On The Other-Other Women...???

The following are excerpts from a Clay Travis op-ed piece that ran on his website today. We just found it interesting, but not necessarily surprising...

((HT: Clay Travis/Deadspin))

Nashville's Tennessean has identified several additional women who were also involved in sexual relationships with Steve McNair. They've done even more than that, there is currently an article quoting those women and how they're dealing with McNair's death. (The women are quoted anonymously because they fear revealing their identities. The Tennessean, to their credit, has a policy against using anonymous sources for stories. Even, evidently when there are multiple women telling the same story. As a result none of us have seen this article. Why? Because of a combination of reasons: a. the women are anonymous and b. the Tennessean bigwigs are convinced the city of Nashville can't handle the news.

There is no doubt that the fact that Steve McNair was engaged in multiple affairs is extremely newsworthy. He was, after all, killed by one of these women. Already the Tennessean has reported that there was a third woman involved in an affair with McNair. Why draw the line there? Especially when articles citing police and other sources have already hinted that Ms. Kazemi may have been motivated in her murder/suicide by uncovering the existence of these other women. She's 20 and believed she was the love of Steve McNair's life. Then she uncovered that she was merely one woman of many that he was squiring about town.

That's a legitimate story that needs to be told, demands to be told even. But it isn't running. Because the editors at The Tennessean don't have the backbone to run a story that their reporters have already anonymously sourced.

No one doubts that Steve McNair was beloved in this city. But telling only a part of the story of how he died does a disservice to the community that loved him. We all deserve to know the truth. Or as close to the truth as we can get.

The fact that The Tennessean doesn't have the guts to stand behind their reporters work speaks more eloquently than anyone else could about how far they've fallen beneath the city of Nashville.

They don't think the people of my city can handle the truth? Put simply Tennessean editors, you aren't good enough at what you do to make a decision like that for the city of Nashville.

(FYI, the Tennessean's managing editor denies that they have held back anything.)

ATF: Ex-Con Sold Kazemi Gun That Killed McNair

((HT: Tennessean/Echegaray))

Adrian Gilliam Jr. ((ictured, thanks WKRN-TV)) of La Vergne has been arrested in connection with the Steve McNair shooting, accused of supplying the gun that killed the NFL great.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco arrested Gilliam.

The gun offense is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000. Gilliam has a 3 p.m. arraignment today before Judge Clifton Knowles.

Gilliam, 33, was convicted in Miami-Dade County, Fla., in 1993 of three counts of armed robbery and second-degree murder.

Sahel Kazemi, 20, who had been dating McNair for several months, purchased the gun from Gilliam on July 2 — the same day she was busted for a DUI while McNair was in the passenger seat of a Cadillac Escalade registered to the pair.

Police said she bought it in the parking lot outside Dave & Busters in the middle of her waitress shift for $100 — and she also tried to sell the gun supplier her Kia but was unsuccessful. She spent so long in the parking lot, the restaurant's managers told her to clock out for the night.

Two days later, McNair was shot four times and Kazemi turned the gun on herself. They were found early morning July 4 in a Second Avenue condo McNair rented with a friend.

Crime-scene evidence showed that all five of the bullets fired in the condo matched the gun that was found under her body. Police are awaiting toxicology reports on both victims.

Kazemi’s family has hired a Nashville lawyer and they are seeking an independent investigation. A representative said relatives can’t believe she acted alone in killing the former quarterback.

According to a court filing in relation to Gilliam's gun charge, the gun originated at Household Pawn on Charlotte Avenue and went through another owner before Gilliam bought it for $100 about a year ago. It said Gilliam admitted to agents he sold the gun to Kazemi, identifying her through a photograph.

John Dwyer leads Christine Maddela and Chris Bundgaard into coverage from the courthouse in Nashville.
Thanks to our friends at WKRN-TV...

McNair didn't leave a Will

It appears as though former NFL Quarterback Steve McNair did not have a will to be read after he was shot and killed on July 4th. According to reports out of Nashville, his wife Mechelle will be the executor of his estate, which is a good break for the McNair family. Over his career in the NFL, McNair made millions of dollars and had acquired quite a bit of property. Had the court ruled otherwise, it all would have been gone.

The story from the Tennessean here .

Apparently, along with Mechelle McNair as the executor, his 2 sons with Mechelle; Tyler and Trenton are listed as heirs. Steve McNair also had 2 sons from a previous relationship.

((Steve McNair with the Titans/Courtesy: TotalProSports.com))

Thousands Mourn McNair In Hattiesburg

((HT: ESPN))

Titans quarterback Vince Young didn't expect to speak Saturday during his mentor's funeral. He wound up summing up the emotional day with just a few words.

"Steve was like a hero to me, and heroes are not supposed to die," Young said before stopping to rub his eyes as he talked about the man he knew from football camps as a teenager and called "Pops" -- Steve McNair, his predecessor with the Titans.

McNair was shot and killed on the Fourth of July by his girlfriend, 20-year-old Sahel Kazemi, who then shot herself in the head.

Nearly 5,000 turned out to say goodbye to the 36-year-old during one of the biggest funerals in the recent history of Mississippi, McNair's home state.

Fans and old friends filed into the Reed Green Coliseum on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi, and McNair's family rented buses to haul in people from his hometown of Mount Olive. Not far away sat men who competed against McNair or coached him on the field.

The high school football team McNair's son plays on wore their jerseys in honor of the man they often saw smiling from the sidelines.

"Mississippi has lost a tremendous legend," said Cardell Jones, McNair's college coach at Alcorn State.

The hearse carrying McNair's silvery-gray casket was escorted 30 miles down Highway 49 by nine police officers on motorcycles and several vehicles carried family members. After the two-hour service, the procession headed back down the road for a private burial at Griffith Cemetery, about 20 miles from Mount Olive.

Police escorted McNair's wife, Mechelle, and his mother, Lucille ((pictured, thanks Clarion-Ledger/Joe Ellis)), into the stadium beforehand. Near the end, a handful of people surrounded his mother and his sons, waving them with fans and programs and giving hugs.

Brett Favre, who had a home near McNair's here in Hattiesburg, sat a few rows behind the McNair family but did not speak. Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis and Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler attended. Doug Williams, the first black quarterback to win the Super Bowl, also was on hand.

Young was added to the service late, and the quarterback drafted by Tennessee in 2006to replace McNair remembered him as a father and mentor. Young said he felt selfish at times taking McNair away from his four sons to help him through his own life.

He then pointed at the Oak Grove High football team sitting in the stands and told them not to give up if they have someone who inspires them.

"Pay attention to that guy because every day you know I had to hear that guy's voice," Young said.

Lewis played against McNair and was his teammate the final two years of his NFL career. Lewis said he learned studying film and proper technique wouldn't help him beat a quarterback fueled by will, heart and sacrifice.

"I find myself in awe when I speak about a man like Steve McNair," Lewis said.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was among those who sent flowers. Titans owner Bud Adams attended a memorial service Thursday night in Nashville, where thousands more attended. Fisher was called up to speak from the audience, and he pulled Young over to the podium and led the audience in the Lord's Prayer just as he did during 11 seasons with McNair before every kickoff.

Bobby Hamilton, who played at Southern Miss and in the NFL with New England and Oakland, used to sleep on the floor of McNair's oldest brother, Fred, when he played at Alcorn State. He also cheered on McNair during his career and recalled how McNair rallied Alcorn State once by scoring two touchdowns with less than a minute left.

"It's very painful. We know he was a warrior. ... I can't even say the word how this warrior went down," an emotional Hamilton said.

The program included memories from McNair's mother, his wife and sons, brothers, and nieces and nephews. Photos were also displayed of the quarterback who played 13 NFL seasons with Tennessee and Baltimore before retiring in 2008.

Coach Nevil Barr brought the jersey-clad Oak Grove team to the service. Steve McNair Jr. attends Oak Grove, and his father joined Favre at a summer workout two weeks ago to play catch with the kids.

"He was on our sideline every Friday night supporting his son," Barr said. "He loved to come watch Steve Jr., and we loved having him there. He always had that smile."

Deloris Cagins of nearby Columbia wore the purple and gold of McNair's alma mater, Alcorn State, and had a pompom tied to her walker. She has relatives who eventually joined her beloved Braves, where McNair made a Heisman Trophy run and set a number of NCAA Division I-AA records before going third overall in the NFL draft in 1995 to the then-Houston Oilers.

"Alcornites to me are a different breed of people," she said. "It's like a family. If you do something, we'll support you."

Here's coverage from Reed Green Coliseum, thanks to our friends at WDAM-TV in Hattiesburg...


The service, in its entirety, is here...thanks to our friends at Eaglevision...

Kazemi Buried In Jacksonville

((HT: ActionNewsJax/Cathi Carson))

The woman who killed Steve McNair before turning the gun on herself was remembered on Friday. 20 year-old Sahel Kazemi was buried at Jacksonville Memory Gardens in a private ceremony.

The service lasted about a half hour. Close family friends describe it as very emotional, and say Kazemi's family is still in shock. Having a tough time understanding how their young daughter's life could have ended with McNair's murder and her own suicide.

Family friend Tony Jones told Action News he isn't sure today's funeral gave the family any sense of closure.

"I don't know, I don't know. There are so many unknowns still. But they are going to miss her greatly. The family has been through a lot so it's tough."

Here's Action News Jax's coverage- Paige Kelton and Marc Spain are your anchors

Another McNair Affair Alleged

((HT: NY Daily News/O'Keeffe))
Even as fans filed into the Tennessee Titans' LP Field Thursday ((pictured, thanks Reuters/Anderson)), staring raptly at rolling video of Steve McNair's on-field heroics and writing condolence messages in large albums, a woman in Minnesota grieved alone, in her own way.

The former business manager of a Minneapolis strip club told the Daily News that McNair had been a frequent visitor to the club and had an intimate and extramarital relationship with an exotic dancer for about six years.

"She liked money and athletes," the former business manager said on condition of anonymity. "She went out with athletes before. She was one of those girls who said, 'You're married? You have kids? So what?' Lets have fun.

"I can tell you that she was very upset when she learned that he had died," the former business manager added.

While the pretty brunette mourned privately, Titans fans turned out Thursday to pay their last respects to the quarterback who became the face of the team after the Houston Oilers relocated to Nashville in 1997. Large crowds jammed into the Lewis & Wright Funeral Home in working-class north Nashville early Thursday morning to get a glimpse of the closed silver casket that contained his body.

Thousands more - many wearing blue Tennessee jerseys sporting McNair's No.9 - attended the tribute at the Titans' stadium and a visitation and service at Mount Zion Baptist Church in White Creek, Tenn., remembering McNair for his football prowess and for his years of local charity work.

"The whole community is in mourning for Steve," Tennessee State Rep. Brenda Gilmour said earlier this week. Gilmour, who represents north Nashville, said McNair had recently opened a breakfast-and-lunch restaurant in her district to provide jobs and inexpensive meals to her constituents.

"He had the kind of personality that made you feel like a member of the family as soon as you met him," she said.

Titans coach Jeff Fisher joined McNair's former teammates, including Al Del Greco and Jevon Kearse, at the funeral home early Thursday to say goodbye to McNair and spend a moment with his wife, Mechelle, and their four children.

"He wasn't an overly vocal leader, but you knew every single play and every single snap that he was going to be there to help us win," Del Greco remembered.

Nashville police said on Wednesday that McNair was fatally shot four times on the Fourth of July by his 20-year-old lover as he slept on a sofa in the downtown Nashville condo he rented with a friend. The woman, Sahel Kazemi, then turned the 9-mm semiautomatic she had purchased two days earlier on herself.

O'Keeffe continues:

McNair's death pulled back the veil on the secret lives of athletes, the ballplayers who are faithful husbands and fathers in public but have lovers and clandestine apartments on the side. But unlike Kazemi, the exotic dancer who dated McNair for six years knew how the game was played.

She had no illusions that he would leave his wife for her. "They had an understanding," the former business manager said.

"He was sitting in the VIP section of the club when she first met him. She made a beeline for him. She knew who he was. There are girls like that in clubs all over the country. They know sports and they know athletes," he added.

"He would give her money for her rent or her car payments, or he would pay for plane tickets," the former business manager said. "She'd spend weekends with him. He would call and say, 'I'm going to be in Baltimore or Chicago or wherever. Why don't you meet me there?' Everything was always first-class."

The dancer may have first been attracted to McNair's fame and wealth, but she soon became fond of his big smile and warm personality.

"He had a great personality," the ex-business manager said. "Very nice guy. Very respectful, whether you were a millionaire or a dancer or a bartender."

The dancer knew she wasn't McNair's only lover, but that doesn't make the heartbreak that came from his death any less real. "She really cared for him," the former business manager said. "He was not perfect, but he was a good guy."

Here's a longer version of the DUI traffic stop involving McNair and Kazemi- probably the last straw in their relationship...

McNair Memorial Service

The visitation and memorial service in Nashville for fallen former Titans Quarterback Steve McNair was met with overflow crowds and a lot of emotion today. The crowd of people began lining up early in the day to get a last glimpse, albeit in a closed casket, of McNair who was shot and killed this past weekend.

The story from the Tennessean here .

Without going into detail since we have reported on pretty much every aspect of the story, the mood was solemn and thoughts were deep. The story at this point hopefully coming to an end as we now know what happened, where it happened, when it happened and apparently why it happened.

((Crowds line street outside Mt.Zion Baptist Church/Courtesy: George Walker IV, The Tennessean))

Take a look at some video from earlier today Courtesy: AP/ESPN/You Tube

Kazemi DUI Arrest Tape Highlights

((HT: AJC/APTV))

Here's the dashcam look into the traffic stop where Metro PD pulled Sahel Kazemi over in the Cadillac Escalade two days before she took the life of Steve McNair and herself.

McNair Murder: Third Person In Escalade ID'd

((HT: WKRN News2-Nashville/Andy Cordan))

While relatives of Sahel Kazemi describe her as happy person and a young woman sure boyfriend and former Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair was going to divorce his wife and the two to move in together, recent events had her showing signs of distress.

According to Metro police, Kazemi, who shot and killed McNair before taking her own life Saturday, was struggling to make two car payments, her roommate was also about to move out, forcing her to pay all the rent and she believed McNair was having an affair with another woman.

In addition, McNair reportedly stood her up in Las Vegas two weeks ago and last Thursday, she was pulled over in downtown Nashville and charged with DUI.

McNair was a passenger in the SUV when Kazemi was pulled over, as was Vent Gordon, a chef a McNair's newly opened restaurant, Gridiron 9.

Gordon, who describes himself as a longtime friend of McNair, said he was like a big brother to the former NFL star.

"I loved him. I am going to miss him. He was my friend," Gordon told News 2 Wednesday, the same day Metro police ruled McNair's death a murder-suicide.

Gordon was the third person in the Escalade McNair and Kazemi shared when Kazemi was stopped on Lower Broadway just before 1:30 a.m. July 2.

Here's Cordan's piece where he caught up with Gordon...
John Dwyer has the introductions...

Kazemi's Best Friend Speaks

((HT: WKRN-TV/News2 Nashville))

Amy Napier Viteri caught up with Emily Andrews, a woman who claims to be Sahel Kazemi's best friend, about the deaths of Steve McNair and Kazemi...

Officer: McNair "Unhappy" At DUI Traffic Stop, 911 Tape Released

((HT: NewsChannel5/WTVF))

A police officer tells Steve McNair's girlfriend the ex-NFL star is "not happy" during a DUI stop captured on video two days before the couple died in a murder-suicide.

Twenty-year-old Sahel Kazemi was pulled over early last Thursday and arrested on a drunken driving charge. McNair was a passenger in the car.

Police released video of the DUI stop after they announced Wednesday that Kazemi killed McNair and herself.

In the video, Kazemi repeatedly asks an officer to have McNair come to the window of the police cruiser where she's sitting. The officer responds, "He's not happy."

McNair, who wasn't charged, leaves in a cab without coming to talk to her. He later bailed her out.

Kazemi laughs and teases the officer but also says she's scared of going to jail.

UPDATE: The Tennessee Bureau of Investigations released the 911 tapes after the murder-suicide. Robert Gaddy is the voice on the other end of the with the operator.

Bus Cook On McNair

((HT: WDAM-TV/Hattiesburg))

Mitchell Williams caught up with McNair's agent for a quick story on the kind of man he knew in Number 9...

McNair Lab Results: Murder-Suicide

((HT: Tennessean/Kate Howard))

A state medical examiner has said that preliminary testing from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation points to the likely conclusion of murder-suicide in the deaths of Steve McNair and Sahel Kazemi ((pictured, thanks Tennessean/family photo)).

Feng Li, the assistant medical examiner who conducted the autopsies, said he will wait for the investigation to be closed before he completes Kazemi’s death certificate to reflect that she died of suicide.

“The results were very consistent in supporting our decision,” Li said.

Gunshot residue and ballistics testing are also consistent with a ruling of murder-suicide, Li said.

“With the lab tests to be obtained combined with the autopsy findings, we will put a final opinion on the death certificate,” Li said.

Kazemi and McNair were found shot to death in a condo off Second Avenue on the afternoon of July 4. A semi-automatic pistol was found under Kazemi’s body. Metro police said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms traced the gun purchase back to Kazemi through a private person.

On the day of her DUI and the day police said she bought a gun, Sahel Kazemi posted all her furniture to Craigslist under a headline: "NICE FURNITURE. TV, COUCH, COFFE TABLE AND MORE - $1 (hermitage)."

The cell number listed in the ad matches the number police got from Kazemi, 20, on July 2 when she was arrested. It was later that day that police said she bought the gun that was found beneath her body.

Family members have said she was getting rid of her furniture because she was planning to move in with McNair. She listed a flat-screen TV, couch, dining room set and coffee table for sale.

She had been arrested early that morning and charged with DUI, driving a Cadillac Escalade titled to her and McNair. McNair came to bail her out of jail later that morning.

Metro Police Chief Ronal Serpas held a press conference Thursday afternoon.
Metro's findings were as follows:

-- Steve McNair was murdered. Kazemi then killed herself.
Serpas maintained that the "totality of the evidence points to a murder-suicide."

-- McNair was shot in sequence- once in the head, twice in the chest, and once more in the left temple. Sherpas said Kazemi then positioned herself next to McNair and fired the gun in to her right temple.

-- Five shell casings have been found that match the weapon found at the crime scene. All five bullets were recovered.

-- Kazemi had gun shot residue trace evidence in her left hand. McNair had no GSR residue on either of his hands.

-- Serpas also said that due to a lack of a struggle and McNair's physical condition, McNair likely was caught by surprise.

-- In the last five to seven days of her life, according to Sherpas, Kazemi was under the impression that her life was "all messed up." She was making payments on her Kia autombile and the Cadillac Escalade she co-signed with McNair. Kazemi's rommate was also on the verge of moving out of her apartment which would have created a hardship on her finances.

-- Serpas also found that Kazemi was operating under the assumption that McNair was involved with another woman. Metro feels this was aonther contributing factor to her immediate state of mind. Those suspicions were around before the Thursday of the DUI stop and subsequent arrest.

-- Metro feels that Wayne Neely was truthful in his interviews with Metro. The 44 minute delay before calling 911 is not unheard of and that the crime scene was not tampered or altered.

McNair Shooting: Wednesday Update

[HT/WSMV]

Initial reports indicate that the bullets used to kill Steve McNair and his girlfriend match the gun found at the ex-NFL quarterback's apartment, said Metro police sources.

An associate said Wednesday that the wife of McNair didn't know about Kazemi before the 20-year-old woman was found dead alongside her husband on the Fourth of July.

McNair, 36, was shot four times in what the medical examiner has said is likely a murder-suicide, though police haven't confirmed that Kazemi was responsible.

Mike Mu, who has worked with McNair's charitable foundation for years, said Mechelle McNair "didn't know who this girl is."

Mechelle McNair, who has not spoken publicly since the shooting, has been described by people close to her as being very upset and distraught. Agent Bus Cook said McNair's wife was "in and out" of it in the hours after the shooting.

Kazemi's family told reporters that the woman was so confident McNair was divorcing his wife of 12 years that she was preparing to sell her furniture and move in with the former quarterback.
Mu is handling media inquiries for Thursday night's memorial service in Nashville. A funeral service will be held Saturday in Mississippi.

The close friend who reported McNair's death to 911 defended his friend since their days playing football at Alcorn State to The Tennessean. Robert Gaddy, who did not immediately return a text message to his cell phone from The Associated Press on Wednesday, said the the McNairs' Nashville home was on the market because they were looking for a new house.

"People need to quit talking about what they don't know. Mac never said anything to me about he was going to get a divorce, and ever since this has all happened everybody is trying to paint a certain picture and they need to talk about what they know," Gaddy told newspaper.

The four-time Pro Bowl quarterback was being remembered Wednesday at the stadium where he played much of his career. The Tennessee Titans opened LP Field for fans to watch video highlights of McNair's 13-year NFL career, look at photos of the quarterback and had a book for them to write messages that will be given to the family.

The McNairs married in 1997, and Mechelle is the mother of two of his four sons. She met McNair while both were students at Alcorn State, though she also studied nursing in Nashville and became a nurse while he played for the Titans.

Mechelle McNair tended his numerous injuries at home, changing bandages and even helping with intravenous fluids in 2001 when her husband needed I.V. antibiotics for an infection that developed after shoulder surgery.

Gaddy: McNair Not Getting Divorce

((HT: Tennessean/Jim Wyatt))

Steve McNair and his wife were selling their Nashville home to buy another one, not to prepare for a divorce, said the longtime friend who called 911 after McNair's bloodied body was found Saturday.
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Robert Gaddy ((pictured, thanks Tennessean/Bill Steber)) said talk that the former Titans quarterback and his wife, Mechelle, were splitting is off base.

"People need to quit talking about what they don't know. Mac never said anything to me about he was going to get a divorce, and ever since this has all happened everybody is trying to paint a certain picture and they need to talk about what they know," Gaddy said Tuesday. He has been friends with McNair for nearly 20 years, dating to their playing days in college.

Gaddy said the McNairs' house in the Green Hills section of Nashville is on the market because they were moving somewhere else together. A local real estate agent said he showed another house to the McNairs more than six months ago.

"People can have all the theories they want, but we haven't even put my man to rest yet or put him in the ground," Gaddy said. "Show some respect for the family. It's crazy.''

Gaddy also defended another friend's decision not to immediately call police after first arriving at the crime scene on Saturday. "The man just panicked," Gaddy said of Wayne Neely, who rented the condominium with McNair.

McNair was shot twice in the head and twice in the chest and died early Saturday. Sahel Kazemi, the 20-year-old woman McNair had been dating, died of a single gunshot wound to the head, and a semi-automatic pistol was found on the floor under her body.

Police aren't classifying the deaths as a murder-suicide, though state medical examiner Bruce Levy has said it's a likely scenario based on the evidence.

Police say Neely called Gaddy after he discovered the bodies around 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Gaddy called 911 around 1:35 p.m.

Metro Police spokesman Don Aaron said Monday that detectives were concerned about the length of time it took for police to be called.

Aaron said police do not believe the bodies were moved. When asked if other evidence may have been moved, he said he couldn't comment.

Gaddy said he called police within 60 seconds of walking in the room and seeing the bodies.

He said Neely reacted like others might have. In a panic, Neely called Gaddy three more times while he was en route to the condominium, Gaddy said.

"You have to understand, it freaked me out so, with Wayne being the person he is. He saw (the bodies) and didn't know what to do. He was nervous about it,'' Gaddy said. "Maybe he should have called 911 first, and I wish he had, because then I wouldn't have seen what I saw. Because that is not how I want to remember my best friend.

"Wayne thought he was doing the best thing. A lot of people don't think so, but at the time and the moment, who can question what anyone would have done in that circumstance?''

Police and emergency officials have declined to release the tape of Gaddy's 911 call, citing the ongoing investigation.

Gaddy was questioned by police on Saturday. He said Tuesday that he doesn't know what's going on with the investigation.

He was not with McNair on Friday night. He said he knows very little about Kazemi, whom police say McNair had been dating for several months.

"I told (detectives) what I knew about the young lady, which wasn't much," Gaddy said. "I just want to know the truth. I just can't fathom what went through that young lady's head.''

When asked if he'd ever met Kazemi, Gaddy replied:

"I am not talking about that young lady. I have a best friend's wife I am more concerned with than that. Don't ask me nothing like that, because I care not to comment.''

Gaddy, a former player for the Nashville Kats of the Arena Football League, said he and McNair remained in close contact, last talking the Tuesday before the slayings.

Kazemi's family members have said the 20-year-old told them McNair had plans to leave his wife, something Gaddy disputes.

The McNair home is on the market.

Sean Simons, an agent with Shirley Zeitlin & Co. Realtors, said he showed Steve and Mechelle McNair a home on Two Rivers Road in Franklin at the end of 2008.

"Steve was there, so was Mechelle and the boys,'' Simons said. "It had 9 acres, too. … Their agent said they were looking at two other properties but I never heard back after that. But they looked happy. Everyone was out there together.''
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Mechelle McNair has not spoken publicly about the death.

Kazemi's family has said she believed McNair was in the process of divorcing his wife when they met at her job at an Opry Mills restaurant several months ago and began dating. There is no record of a divorce filing for the McNairs.

Gaddy said if they had plans to divorce, he would have known.

"That's one thing that I can get straightened out," he said. "Steve and Mechelle both put that house for sale. He was getting ready to sell that house, and they were going to buy another house. They have been house-hunting for some time now. ... Steve and Mechelle were fine.''

Gaddy, however, said he isn't. He said he hasn't slept since Saturday's discovery, his mind filled with guilt and an image he believes will haunt him forever.

"All I do is picture what I saw and what could have transpired to cause it, and all I think about is what I could have done to prevent it,'' he said.

"I am constantly beating myself up, thinking what I could have done. I wasn't there for my man."