MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE THIRD EXTRAORDINARY SESSION 2009

By: Representatives Clarke, To: Rules Wooten, Johnson, Hines, Clark, Holland, Middleton, Holloway, Bailey, Baker (74th), Banks, Bell, Blackmon, Broomfield, Buck (5th), Buck (72nd), Burnett, Calhoun, Carpenter, Coleman (65th), Currie, Dickson, Ellis, Espy, Fillingane, Fredericks, Gadd, Gardner, Gibbs, Hamilton (6th), Harrison, Huddleston (30th), Jennings, Jones, McCoy, McGee, Moss, Myers, Patterson, Peranich, Perkins, Rogers (61st), Smith (27th), Straughter, Thomas, Ward, Warren, Flaggs

HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 1

1 A RESOLUTION HONORING AND COMMEMORATING THE LIFE, CAREER, 2 CONTRIBUTIONS AND LEGACY OF STEVE LATREAL "AIR" MCNAIR, AND 3 EXPRESSING DEEPEST SYMPATHY TO HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS UPON HIS 4 PASSING. 5 WHEREAS, on Saturday, July 4, 2009, the world lost a national 6 football icon in Steve LaTreal "Air" McNair, born February 14, 7 1973, in Mount Olive, Mississippi, to the hard-working single 8 parent, Ms. Lucille McNair, as he departed this earthly life at 9 the untimely age of 36 to enter into eternal rest, bringing great

10 sorrow and loss to his family, friends and fans; and 11 WHEREAS, Steve attended Mount Olive High School where he 12 played football, baseball and in addition to running 13 track, earning All-State honors in all four sports, and leading 14 Mount Olive to a state championship in football his junior season; 15 and 16 WHEREAS, though known for his career as a in 17 college and the pros, he also played free safety in high school,

18 and in one year alone he intercepted 15 passes, raising his career 19 total to 30, which tied the state career record; and 20 WHEREAS, Steve chose to follow in his brother Fred's

21 footsteps and attend , though smaller than 22 many other schools recruiting him, because of his heart's desire 23 to be a quarterback; and 24 WHEREAS, during his career at Alcorn he broke many records, 25 including becoming the only player in NCAA history to gain more

26 than 16,000 yards in a college career; and 27 WHEREAS, he faced a difficult decision after his junior 28 season of whether to return for his senior year or make a run for H. R. No. 1 *HR03/R1* N1/2 093E/HR03/R1 PAGE 1 (CAA\LH) 29 the NFL draft, and with the support of his mom and brother, Fred, 30 he decided to return to Alcorn State where he had another 31 spectacular season and became one of only three Alcorn Braves to 32 have his jersey retired; and 33 WHEREAS, among his collegiate accolades, Steve was named 34 Southwestern Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year four

35 years in a row, received the Award as the top 36 Division 1-AA player, received the Eddie Robinson Trophy as the 37 top player in the college ranks, and placed third in the 1994 38 race, making him the first Division 1-AA player to 39 rank in the top five of Heisman votes since Jerry Rice in 1985; 40 and 41 WHEREAS, though Steve's choice to attend Division 1-AA Alcorn 42 State may have hampered his Heisman hopes, it would not negatively

43 affect his NFL draft status when, on April 22, 1995, he was chosen 44 as the third pick in the first round by the Houston Oilers, making 45 him the highest-drafted African-American quarterback ever, and he 46 signed a $28.4 million dollar seven-year contract, making him the 47 Oilers highest-paid player and the highest-paid rookie in the 48 history of the NFL; and 49 WHEREAS, he quickly showed he would make it as a pro when 50 thrust into action in his first season after starting quarterback

51 was injured, and McNair rose to the occasion with 52 an impressive second-half performance in a game against the 53 Detroit Lions, and then started the next two games, leading the 54 Oilers to back-to-back victories; and 55 WHEREAS, Steve's career as a starting quarterback began in 56 1997 when the Oilers moved to , making him the youngest 57 franchise quarterback in the league when they traded away Chris 58 Chandler; and 59 WHEREAS, the 1999-2000 season started with difficulty, when

60 lower back surgery forced Steve to miss five games, but he 61 returned sooner than medical professionals thought possible to H. R. No. 1 *HR03/R1* 093E/HR03/R1 PAGE 2 (CAA\LH) 62 help lead the team to an AFC Championship and a tough 23-16 loss 63 to the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV, when the game ended 64 with his pass to leaving the Titans one yard short of 65 the end zone; and 66 WHEREAS, the 2003 season brought the most accolades for 67 Steve, when he was named co-MVP, Sports

68 Illustrated Player of the Year, Sports Illustrated All-Pro and a 69 starter, doing all this while battling right calf and 70 left ankle injuries early in the season and dislocating his right 71 fourth finger in a game against the ; and 72 WHEREAS, with the Titans fielding a young and inexperienced 73 team in 2005, Steve looked to move to the and was 74 traded to them in 2006, leading the Ravens to a 13-3 record and an 75 AFC North Championship, but his football career ended after a

76 first-game injury in 2007 which lingered throughout the season and 77 eventually required surgery; and 78 WHEREAS, Steve was very active in his community and gave back 79 abundantly through the Steve McNair Foundation, generous donations 80 to the Boys & Girls Club and Hurricane Katrina relief efforts; and 81 WHEREAS, it is the policy of the House of Representatives to 82 commemorate the life of those whose athletic prowess has garnered 83 praise from all their contemporaries and millions of fans like

84 Steve McNair, whose caliber and stardom can only be rivaled by his 85 many extraordinary accomplishments and contributions to our 86 society: 87 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF 88 REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby 89 honor and commemorate the life, career, contributions and legacy 90 of Steve LaTreal "Air" McNair, and express deepest sympathy to his 91 family, friends and fans upon his passing. 92 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be

93 furnished to his family and to the members of the Capitol Press 94 Corps. H. R. No. 1 *HR03/R1* 093E/HR03/R1 ST: Steve LaTreal "Air" McNair; honor and PAGE 3 (CAA\LH) commemorate the life, career, contributions and legacy of.