Eddie George (left) & Steve McNair (right) with Sherman Smith.
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Former teammate Eddie George says retired NFL quarterback Steve McNair may have been struggling to fill a void after retiring from football, something most star athletes go through when their careers come to an end.
Says an introspective George:
“I’m hoping that people can look beyond the circumstances surrounding his death. What people fail to realize is that when you make a transition away from the game — emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually — you go through something. You change, and you’re constantly searching for something.”
George was the star running back for the Tennessee Titans and had combined with McNair to create a potent offense that took the team to the Super Bowl in 2000. It was McNair who led the Titans in a dramatic comeback that day, only to fall a yard short on the final play of the game.
George said that he last saw McNair this past football season when the Titans retired their jerseys and that they had a “chance to relive our moments.” He said McNair, who retired from the NFL in April 2008, never indicated how bad he was struggling without football.
“Steve was a stoic, strong individual who never let on to anything wrong with his life,” he said.
But George added almost every player struggles to cope in retirement and that “different people handle it different ways.”
“I think underneath it all he was in search of filling a void — and that stems from not playing the game. And that’s what happens. Unfortunately,” George said.
“I just know from experience that when you’re used to doing something for so long that you love to do — how do you fill that void?” George continued. “You’re in search of something. Most players may go back to things they used to know. They may revert back to drugs, divorce rates go up, obesity. You’re looking for something comforting.
“For Steve, it was uncharacteristic for him to be out there with this young lady like that. However, he was in search for something. So there’s a much deeper issue here than just Steve and extramarital affairs. It was a person searching for something. So we need to have compassion for Steve and the young lady and his wife and family — and really embrace that and celebrate his life and learn from anything else.”
George added, “I’m pretty sure if he were here today he’d say, ‘You know what I’m sorry. Things happen. I’m a man.’ But he had a beautiful heart. He was a beautiful spirit.”
We continue to pray that McNair’s beautiful wife and children find peace in the midst of this tragedy.
Details are emerging about the Former Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair’s death, it appears McNair was killed in an apparent murder-suicide with a young woman who worked at an Opry Mills restaurant and who McNair has dated for months.
