Steve McNair was loved by many in Nashville. A star quarterback who led big plays on the field, he became renowned for his arm strength, poise under pressure, and deep pride in his Tennessee Titans team. Away from sports, he remained approachable, down to earth. And yet on one summer day in 2009, McNair’s life was cut short in shocking tragedy, leading to a mystery that still holds grip.
The Netflix documentary “Untold: The Murder of Air McNair” seeks answers to this sad puzzle. Through interviews and archival footage, we learn of McNair’s rise from college record-setter at Alcorn State to NFL great guiding the then-Houston Oilers, later Titans franchise’s exciting run to the Super Bowl in 1999 against the legendary “Greatest Show on Turf.” We also see police puzzling over McNair’s death, found shot in a condo alongside his girlfriend. Who was responsible, and why?
In this review we’ll explore McNair’s football feats and what made him a hero in Nashville. Details emerge of the night tragedy struck. An investigation twists as new angles come to light. Controversy grows around whether police caught the real perpetrator. Through it all is the eternal mystery—what truly happened to beloved Air McNair?
McNair Makes His Mark
Steve McNair’s journey to stardom began in unexpected places. Growing up in tiny Mount Olive, Mississippi, football was his escape from small-town life. For hours, you’d find him practicing throws in fields, devouring tape of pros. It fueled his desire to excel.
And excel he did at Alcorn State, a historically black university an hour from his home. There, McNair ripped up records as if it were easy. By his senior year in 1994, everyone knew the name, though scouts wondered if he could translate to the NFL. But if hard work meant anything, this young man would prove them wrong.
The Houston Oilers saw McNair’s talent and drafted him third overall in 1995. But he watched impatiently that rookie year as another started every game. When McNair finally got his chance in 1997 after the team’s move to Tennessee, he lit up the league. And in 1999, everything changed. Leading a 13-3 season, McNair brought the Titans within a whisker of a Super Bowl win, if not for a last-gasp Rams drive. Even in defeat, he won over fans with sheer will. After that, Madison Avenue beckoned—”Air” ” McNair became a household name.
Those Titans teams were McNair’s family. From musicians to mechanics, everyone in Nashville felt invested. And when an injury sidelined him in 1999’s playoffs, the town was on edge till his return. Against the Bills, down by 1 with 16 seconds left, the comeback was set in motion. While McNair didn’t directly touch the “Music City Miracle,” his heart and soul defined that team. The Super Bowl proved how far those bonds could stretch, even if the Rams proved too tough an opponent in the end. McNair had cemented not only himself in sports history but also ensured the Titans’ footprint in a city he’d always help carry on his shoulders.
A Dark Discovery
July 4th, 2009 started as just another summer day in Nashville. But darkness soon fell when two lives were cut short in shocking violence.
It was Robert Gaddy who first found the terrible scene. Arriving that morning at the downtown condo of his close friend Steve McNair, he opened the door to a haunting sight. McNair lay slumped on the couch, riddled with bullets. And on the floor, another body—a young woman, blood pooling around her.
Gaddy dialed 911 with unsteady hands. Police soon swarmed, cordoning off the grisly crime scene. Their initial task was to make sense of the chaos. Interviewing Gaddy and Wayne Neely, who rented the condo to McNair, yet neither seemed involved in the tragedy.
Identifying the victims came next. The man was sadly, unmistakably Steve McNair, a former NFL star beloved in Nashville. But who was the woman? Her appearance gave no clues to name or reason for being there.
Police worked the phones, seeking details on McNair’s life that could provide answers. It emerged he’d been secretly seeing someone—a twenty-year-old named Sahel Kazemi. Employees at her restaurant spoke of their rumored romance, an unlikely match between the aging athlete and young woman.
Kazemi’s past hinted at inner turmoil—she’d emigrated from Iran as a girl after her mother’s death. Those close to her knew of struggles with stress and mental health. But could these demons truly explain the carnage at the condo? The investigation had grievous work ahead to learn what led to this tragedy and find justice for two lives cut far too short.
Pieces of the Puzzle
As the investigation continued, more of McNair and Kazemi’s relationship came to light. Witnesses spoke of the unlikely pair frequently spending time together. Though still wed, McNair had been brazen about companions beyond his wife.
This led police to question an angry ex of Kazemi’s, Keith Norfleet. He’d been sore over their split before she took up with McNair. But nothing tied him to the crime. Another dead end.
A breakthrough arrived when they learned Kazemi purchased a handgun hours after a drunk driving arrest. With McNair in the passenger seat, she begged his aid; he refused, paying her bail instead. Was anger building?
Tracing the gun led to Adrian Gilliam admitting its recent sale though denying knowing the buyer. But showing his photo confirmed it was Kazemi. More intriguingly, the pair shared hundreds of calls and texts preceding the murders.
What was this relationship? Gilliam, a convicted felon, changed his story under pressure. Still, more questions arose than answers. His role, like so many angles in this convoluted case, remained murky.
The links between Kazemi, Gilliam, and that fateful weapon inched the case slightly forward. Yet at each step seemed to arise new layers of complexity in a tragedy that would only deepen in darkness before the lights of truth could shine through.
Lingering Doubts
With Kazemi revealed as McNair’s secret lover, the police pieced together a tragic theory. Struggling with mental demons and a volatile romance, they decided she shot McNair in a fit of rage and then took her own life.
Case closed, and yet niggling doubts lingered for some. What if Kazemi wasn’t truly alone in committing such violence? The investigation that downplayed other suspects drew fierce criticism.
Most outspoken was Adrian Gilliam’s link to the crime. This convicted killer had knowingly misled police, maintaining a secret relationship with Kazemi. His supposed alibi as the gun’s seller slipped under closer inspection too.
Yet authorities stood firm, dismissing alternate possibilities. To reopen the case required undeniable evidence, not just speculation. And with both the apparent shooter and their prime suspect deceased, a final accounting seemed unlikely.
So a grieving city was left without all the truth they craved. Friends laid McNair to rest with the comfort that his talents on the field endure in memory, if not in solving how his light was so brutally extinguished in that shocking murder case’s shadows of uncertainty.
A Question of Motive
During the investigation, a puzzling piece didn’t entirely fit. Private eye Vincent Hill saw what others missed—suspicious ties binding suspects the case overlooked.
Specifically, the secret liaisons between Adrian Gilliam and Kazemi raised doubts. They weren’t strangers, but passionate companions hiding a twisted bond. And what of Gilliam’s shady record as a convicted killer?
Hill delved deeper. A financial dispute had recently emerged between McNair and his old friend, Robert Gaddy. With big money on the line, Hill suspected Gaddy hired Gilliam to resolve both problems—silencing McNair while framing Kazemi in the act.
Yet the theory left many in disbelief. Gaddy dismissed such slander in anger. Police clung to their open-and-shut ruling, reluctant to revisit what they’d resolved.
Still, Gilliam’s strange reversal on informing police, his history of violence—these uncertainties lingered where Hill looked for truth. Officially closed though the case stood, it seemed one man’s intuition grasped at wisps others refused to chase, lest they stir ghosts better left undisturbed.
Lingering Questions
With its “Untold” title, this film left many hoping for fresh insight into Steve McNair’s tragic end. Yet for most, it offered familiar retelling rather than new light.
McNair’s athletic feats added context but didn’t drive the story forward. And that single late alternative theory raised more doubts than answers. Viewers were left wanting more substance to back its claims.
As a true crime recap, details were conveyed clearly enough. But judging by earlier installments’ standards of surprise reveals, this entry fell short of the series’ usual intrigue.
Don’t expect your questions to be fully satisfied. Casual sports fans may find brief interest in McNair’s career highlights. But those hoping Untold would upend assumptions will finish little enlightened. This film barely scrapped below Google’s surface-level overview, leaving that famed promise unfulfilled.
In the end, a rewatch feels unwarranted when far more rewards remain out there in Netflix’s documentary library. This murder’s full truth still feels far from told.
The Review
Untold: The Murder of Air McNair
While the tragedy of Steve McNair's death deserved remembrance, this film offered more questions than answers. A complex case begging deeper investigation was instead given superficial treatment. By clinging to an "Untold" brand, its content failed to justify, and the documentary left those hoping to learn more only half satisfied.
PROS
- Gave helpful context into McNair's football career and impact
- Clearly conveyed the known details of the case
CONS
- Barely went beyond high-level facts available elsewhere.
- Neglected to substantively explore alternative theories
- Failed to live up to 'Untold' branding through new revelations
- Incorporated McNair's background awkwardly.
- Raised more questions than it answered overall.
