While he only played two seasons for our Baltimore Ravens, I consider it an honor to have watched Steve McNair play in a Raven uniform. He'll always be remembered as a Tennessee Titan, as he should be, but he'll also go down as one of the toughest and grittiest players in NFL history.
During his time in Baltimore, it seemed like he was always on the injury report with a strained back, sore shoulder, or bruised ribs, among many more injuries. Regardless of the ailment, he persevered and led the Ravens during the 2006 season when they went 13-3 and won the AFC North. At the end of his career, it appeared his injuries finally caught up with him as the perennial hall of famer was forced to call it quits after 13 seasons.
However, his past statistics and achievements take a backseat to today's news that McNair, 36, was tragically shot and killed in Nashville. It is unclear exactly what happened but when it comes down to it, a young man and woman lost their life due to an act of gun violence.
On my way home today, I heard a piece of the Sporting News radio show during which they were discussing the link between professional athletes and violence. As of now, it does not appear that Steve McNair put himself in any danger. However, professional athletes, especially NFL players, seem to find themselves in the middle of dangerous situations. Sean Taylor, Darrent Williams, and Steve McNair are just a few of the athletes who have recently been killed or involved with gun violence. Their deaths give creedence to the notion that high-profile athletes are targeted more often than average joes. I've got to believe that professional athletes are going to feel more inclined to protect themselves.
Would you feel comfortable with more athletes wielding firearms for protection? Occasionally, professional athletes are the danger as seen through Tank Johnson's and Plaxico Burress' off the field gun-related problems. It is a very complicated issue that may never be fully resolved. As for now, our prayers go out to the McNair family as they mourn the loss of a true competitor.
RIP Steve
Athletes should not need a gun to protect themselves. The players you mentioned, such as Sean Taylor and Darrent Williams, got themselves into bad situations. If you don't get into those situations, chances are good you don't get killed. Plus, if athletes are allowed to carry guns to protect themselves, then everybody in the nation would be allowed to bear arms, which is something, personally, i wouldn't want to have happen.
ReplyDeleteSteve McNair's situation sounds different from the others. It sounds like a domestic situation that stands apart from the other recent deaths of NFL players.
I'd also like to wish the best to McNair's family and friends, and hope that this situation gets as resolved as it can be sometime soon. While McNair had a very up-and-down couple of years with the Ravens, it was an honor to watch a potential hall-of-fame quarterback play for this team.
I'm not trying to say that just ANY athlete can bear arms. They would still have to go through the legal process just like anyone else in order to get a weapon. My point is that those players who legally or perhaps illegally decide to protect themselves with a gun, due to the recent events, may endanger the general public. I'm worried that more Plaxico Burress situations will occur and an innocent bystander may get seriously injured or killed.
ReplyDeleteyeah i agree. unfortunately i think the bigger problem is that the athletes get themselves into bad situations, and the fact that they have a weapon just makes things worse.
ReplyDeleteI think another problem, that possibly leads to the one that you're talking about James — Is that these kids come out of college and enter a world that they're not quite ready for. I'm not really sure there's a person on this earth who's really ready to accept the responsibility that is placed on these kids as professional athletes and youth role models.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, it isn't altogether fair that as a society, we raise professional athletes up on a pedestal, or view them as being any more important than the regular men and women that make up the working class.
Either way, I think a lot of times these guys just don't have the ability to deal with all the pressure. And adding millions of dollars to the mix, with the extremely lucrative contracts, just adds to the problem. If you give someone who's just graduated from college more money than most people could hope to see in a lifetime, you might end up putting yourself (and him) in a bad situation.
It's really a shame that things aren't different. I really wish they were... But for now, it looks like this is the way things are gonna go.
Speaking specifically about McNair’s recent misfortune, I realize that we’re not talking about a young college age kid. But like many people who have lots of money and fame, it’s possible that he cracked under pressure. He could have found himself in a situation that he couldn’t fully control. It happens to lots of people of that status… It’s just a shame that it had to end the way it did.