McNair won't host Ravens' rally as promo suggests

Former Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair is listed to be the guest host of a pre-game pep rally Friday night at the Limelight Club in Nashville for Baltimore Ravens fans.

However, a local Nashville TV station said Wednesday night McNair will not appear at the event.

The Purple Pep Rally, hosted by Baltimore radio station WNST, is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. with proceeds going to the Ronald McDonald House in Baltimore. McNair, who spent the final two years of his 13-year NFL career with the Ravens and retired after the 2007 season, is the scheduled guest host, according to a poster on the radio station's blog.

WKRN Channel 2 reported Wednesday night, citing one of the retired quarterback's managers as its source, that McNair would not be attending the rally after all and did not know it was a Ravens' rally, believing it was only a charity event.

McNair’s agent Bus Cook said he had no idea about the rally. Efforts to reach the Baltimore radio station Wednesday evening were unsuccessful.

McNair was a first-round pick by of the Titans franchise in 1995 when it was still located in Houston and guided Tennessee to the Super Bowl in 1999. He was the quarterback for the Titans in their 24-10 divisional playoff loss to Baltimore the following season.

His time in Tennessee ended in 2006 when the Titans barred him from their facility because of an injury risk while he had a $23 million cap figure that off-season. He was eventually traded to Baltimore.

One former Titans teammate said he would be surprised at the thought that McNair might appear at a Ravens' rally.

“It can't be so. I’m speechless for the first time. For all my 36 years of living I’m speechless,” former Titans receiver Chris Sanders said. “But if it’s for charity, well, I’m still speechless, because of the way that Ray Lewis hit him [in the 2000 playoff game]… I’m looking for the cameras [in my house] to say, ‘Gotcha, Chris.’”

Despite his time with the Ravens, McNair has since been honored by the Titans, who put him in their Ring of Honor earlier this season.

He also visited Titans training camp this summer for the first time since the trade, and held a retirement party aboard the General Jackson on Halloween. He spoke fondly of the Titans' organization during his visit that day to Baptist Sports Park.

“Personally, it wasn’t about burying the hatchet. I love the organization, but it was just a business move. You can’t mix personal things with business. It was a business decision. I accepted that, and we moved on,” McNair said at the time. “They gave me an opportunity to play 11 years and take care of my family. I don’t have any animosity toward this organization, especially the coaching staff, because the coaching staff is just like family.”