Sahel Kazemi's nephew reveals she expected Steve McNair to divorce wife

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The former NFL quarterback and the waitress met about six months ago, at a restaurant where she worked and his family often ate. He was married and 16 years older, but she seemed happy and eager to build a life with him.

Steve McNair was retired from football and spending time again in Nashville, where he had enjoyed the best years of his career. Sahel Kazemi was 20 years old and swept up: He gave her a Cadillac Escalade for her birthday and took her on trips to places such as Key West, Fla., and Las Vegas.

"She just had it made, you know, this guy taking care of everything," her nephew, Farzin Abdi, said Monday.

They were found dead Saturday — McNair from two gunshots each to the head and chest, Kazemi from a single shot.

Kazemi bought the handgun, which was found under her body, Thursday night, police said Monday.

Police haven't yet linked the weapon to the shootings.

On Monday, as the coach of the Tennessee Titans remembered McNair as the man who put the franchise on the map and police continued their investigation, more details of the McNair-Kazemi relationship came to light.

Kazemi appeared confident the pair would last and had introduced her family to McNair, her nephew said. Abdi quoted her as saying McNair was divorcing his wife and that it would be finalized soon.

"I think she had already put her stuff up for sale on Craigslist," Abdi said.

There was a sign of trouble early Thursday morning. Police stopped Kazemi on Broadway, not far from the honky-tonks where country singers belt out tales of unfaithful spouses. She was driving the Escalade SUV that McNair gave her in May.

According to an arrest affidavit, Kazemi had bloodshot eyes and alcohol on her breath. She refused a breath test and told an officer "she was not drunk, she was high." She was charged with driving under the influence.

McNair was with Kazemi but not charged. He took care of her bail.

The two then apparently spent some time apart.

According to police spokesman Don Aaron, McNair wasn't with Kazemi when she bought the semi-automatic pistol found at the scene. Police have declined to release the caliber of the weapon or the name of the person who sold it to her.

The next night, McNair reportedly was out late with friends, but he and Kazemi got together at a downtown condo, a place McNair shared with a friend. A witness told police the ex-quarterback arrived between 1:30 and 2 a.m. Kazemi's car was already there.

When McNair's roommate, Wayne Neeley, got to the condo at midday, what he thought he saw was his friend sitting on the couch and Kazemi on the floor. Neeley went into the kitchen and, according to police, then saw blood.

Officers said they found a gun under Kazemi's body. There were no signs of forced entry into the condo McNair leased. Police labeled McNair's death a homicide Sunday but said they were reviewing every possibility before labeling Kazemi's death.

Mechelle McNair, his wife of 12 years and mother of two of his four sons born between 1991 and 2004, has been described by police as distraught about his death and has not commented.

No court records of divorce proceedings have surfaced. The strongest public evidence the McNairs might have been estranged is that their 14,000-square-foot Nashville home has been up for sale recently, listed at $3 million.

Some close to McNair — his brother, Fred, and Steve's agent, Bus Cook — have said they knew nothing of Kazemi before the shootings.

On Monday, Titans coach Jeff Fisher said, "The Steve that I knew, if he were here right now, would want to say, 'Mechelle, I love you.' "

Fisher called McNair one of the "greatest competitors of all time on the field."

Aaron said a solution to the case, which awaits ballistics and gunpowder-residue tests, might not be as neatly resolved as people would like.

"It may be we'll never know exactly why this happened," he said.

McNair, 36, last played in 2007. He had gained the respect of players for shaking off defenders and injuries and earned the love of fans amazed at how the quarterback kept showing up for work — and winning.

He was known as Air McNair because of his passing prowess and was named to four Pro Bowls in 13 pro seasons. He shared the league most-valuable-player award with Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts in 2003. McNair led the Titans to the 2000 Super Bowl, where they fell a yard short of a last-second touchdown to tie St. Louis.

In retirement, McNair had opened a restaurant, the Gridiron9, near the Tennessee State University campus. Deep-fried hot dogs, Cajun catfish sandwiches and Southern-style chicken strips were among the items sold.

"He had a sweet spirit," Kimberly Hardy, a 25-year-old McNair admirer, said outside the restaurant, where mourners have been gathering and leaving flowers and writing messages on the front window.

The public will have opportunities to attend viewings in Nashville on Thursday and a memorial will be held that evening at Mount Zion Baptist Church.

A second memorial service will be held Saturday at Reed Green Coliseum in Hattiesburg, Miss. McNair grew up in nearby Mount Olive.

McNair had been seen at Kazemi's Nashville apartment two to three times a week, so often neighbors wondered whether he had moved in.

"They were together all the time, unless he was taking his kids on vacation," Abdi said.

Kazemi was born in Iran but left in 2000, fleeing religious persecution for their Baha'i faith, Abdi said. They spent 2 ½ years in Turkey before moving to Florida.

Kazemi dropped out of high school and, at age 17, moved with a boyfriend to Nashville, where she sometimes worked two or three jobs to support herself.

She liked not depending on anyone for money, and she told her nephew McNair admired her independent nature.

"He liked her so much because they would go shopping and stuff and she would want to spend her own money," Abdi said. "The reason he said he loves her is because she's not trying to use him like other girls. She was different from other girls he had been with."