Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:04 am EDT

I'm open to the occasional twisted joke, but this one goes a little far, even for me.
Kings Island, an amusement park in Cincinnati, decided to include dead celebrities in their Halloween display, and one of those displays parodied deceased former NFL quarterback Steve McNair(notes).
A skeleton representing McNair, wearing a No. 9 jersey while sitting on a couch, is holding a Titans helmet with the top blown off, while a woman in red lingerie lays across his lap. There's a gun on the ground, near her body. On July 4th of this year, a woman named Sahel Kazemi killed McNair and herself in a murder-suicide.
Ha?
Word of the McNair display got out, and as you might have guessed, people did not react favorably. A spokesperson for Kings Island told Clay Travis of FanHouse that there would be no McNair display when the park opens its "Halloween Haunt" on Friday, after initially denying that it ever existed.
This article from WLWT in Cincinnati references the McNair display, as well as others of Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Ted Kennedy and Ed McMahon. You can see pictures of some of the displays here, including McNair.
Now, obviously, the people at King's Island are not the first people in history to make jokes about the recently deceased. Most of us have heard jokes about Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Patrick Swayze. Dead celebrity jokes, for better or worse, are an American tradition.
Most people, though, have the good sense to keep those jokes private. There's a pretty big difference between that, and creating huge displays mocking the dead, making these displays available to the general public and then profiting from them.
Shutdown Corner is an NFL blog edited by Matthew J. Darnell. Email him, and follow him on Twitter.

Fantasy: Gentlemen's League - Good vs. Evil
Posted Nov 20 2009
Posted Nov 19 2009
Posted Nov 19 2009
Edited by MJD
Edited by 'Duk
Edited by J.E. Skeets
Edited by Greg Wyshynski
Edited by Matt Hinton
Edited by E. Brennan
Edited by Jay Busbee
Edited by Jay Busbee
Edited by Steve Cofield
Edited by Chris Chase
Edited by Chris Chase
Edited by Andy Behrens
163 Comments
1 - 25 of 163
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
"I'm open to the occasional twisted joke, but this one goes a little far, even for me."
So then you post a link to the other scenes? For real? You're either grossly incompetent or ignorant...possibly both. Keep up the good work though.
Report Abuse
It doesn't surprise me at all that Kings Island would do something this classless. One more reason never to go back to that dump!
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
Report Abuse
1 - 25 of 163