OT: Chiefs Player Commits Suicide at Team Facility

Thunder Muscle · Post #1 » by **Thunder Muscle** » Sat Dec 1, 2012 4:08 pm

Whoa. Apparently killed girlfriend and then went to team facility and shot himself.

Early reports it's starting ILB Jovan Belcher and some reports saying coaches tried to stop him, but he blasted himself anyway. Yikes.

Thunder Muscle · Post #2 » by **Thunder Muscle** » Sat Dec 1, 2012 4:10 pm

Link: http://www.kctv5.com/story/20234680/pol ... kills-self

zmanishere11 · Post #3 » by **zmanishere11** » Sat Dec 1, 2012 4:25 pm

Just saw this - freaking crazy.

Apparently it's Jovan Belcher 0- undrafted player from Maine that made it in 2009. Backup linebacker.

Thunder Muscle · Post #4 » by **Thunder Muscle** » Sat Dec 1, 2012 5:00 pm

zmanishere11 wrote:Just saw this - freaking crazy.

Apparently it's Jovan Belcher 0- undrafted player from Maine that made it in 2009. Backup linebacker.

I think he's actually their starting ILB per their depth chart and looks like he is tied for 4th on their team in tackles. Crazy though, seems like murder/suicides becoming more prevalent.

Thunder Muscle · Post #5 » by **Thunder Muscle** » Sat Dec 1, 2012 5:04 pm

Officially Belcher and holy sh*t.

Jovan Belcher of the Kansas City Chiefs killed his girlfriend at about 8 AM local time at a home in the area.

The mother of Belcher's girlfriend was present at the time and witnessed the shooting.

Belcher then shot and killed himself at the Chiefs' practice facility in front of both Scott Pioli and Romeo Crennel. Kansas City Police said that Belcher thanked both men before taking his life.

The Chiefs confirmed the shooting and the identity of the shooter.

Belcher, a 25-year-old linebacker, was in his fourth season out of Maine.

Read more: http://football.realgm.com/src_wiretap_ ... z2DowjOggW

emunney · Post #6 » by **emunney** » Sat Dec 1, 2012 5:21 pm

That is awful.

drew881 · Post #7 » by **drew881** » Sat Dec 1, 2012 5:24 pm

Panthers plane takes off in one hour for Kansas City, should be an interesting game, as it looks like the NFL is having them play it.

RiotPunch · Post #8 » by **RiotPunch** » Sat Dec 1, 2012 5:27 pm

Shocking and terrible news. Wow...

Wonder if McMillian was at all tight with Belcher, both being Maine products and all?

MartyConlonOnTheRun · Post #9 » by **MartyConlonOnTheRun** » Sat Dec 1, 2012 5:44 pm

I don't really understand why they would cancel the game like some sites are speculating. Any other business would open the next day and I doubt the nfl would lose millions of dollars by canceling the game.

drew881 · Post #10 » by **drew881** » Sat Dec 1, 2012 5:50 pm

MartyConlonOnTheRun wrote:I don't really understand why they would cancel the game like some sites are speculating. Any other business would open the next day and I doubt the nfl would lose millions of dollars by canceling the game.

They definitely have to protect the fan base that has made plans around this game: buying tickets, traveling, etc. On the other hand, this game is really going to suck for the Chiefs and even though this was a pretty awful act, I'm sure players are mourning the loss.

BUCKnation · Post #11 » by **BUCKnation** » Sat Dec 1, 2012 5:58 pm

Wow... That is crazy.

chuckleslove · Post #12 » by **chuckleslove** » Sat Dec 1, 2012 7:01 pm

Just awful news but with the way some things have gone recently I'm glad he didn't go on an entire rampage, that is going to be awful for Pioli and Crennel to deal with.

Also I don't see any way the NFL can cancel this game, wouldn't be fair to the fans that potentially travel from all over to see this game.

Post #13 » by **humanrefutation** » Sat Dec 1, 2012 7:41 pm

I certainly get the financial reasons why the NFL wouldn't cancel the game. But this has to be terrible for his teammates and the organization, and especially horrifying for Crennel, Pioli, and the other team employee that watched him kill himself.

I've had to talk a friend out of suicide before - that whole experience sticks with me to this day. If he ended up doing it in front of me, I think it would have had lifelong psychological effects on me. I can't imagine the type of impact this'll have on Crennel and Pioli.

Post #14 » by **humanrefutation** » Sat Dec 1, 2012 7:43 pm

Oh, and this is total speculation on my part, but with all of the other player suicides that we've heard about over the last few years, you have to wonder if there are CTE-related causes here.

UWM_Brew_Buck · Post #15 » by **UWM_Brew_Buck** » Sat Dec 1, 2012 8:03 pm

Wow this is really sad.

humanrefutation wrote:Oh, and this is total speculation on my part, but with all of the other player suicides that we've heard about over the last few years, you have to wonder if there are CTE-related causes here.

That would be crazy if it was related to CTE cause he was so young. NFL players have a 6 times higher suicide rate than the national average, a truly scary statistic. You would think that if the NFL cared about player safety they would be trying to help alleviate the problem.

Post #16 » by **humanrefutation** » Sat Dec 1, 2012 8:22 pm

They've found evidence of CTE in football players as young as 18, so it's not out of the realm of possibility. But then again it's total speculation.

DigitalFool · Post #17 » by **DigitalFool** » Sat Dec 1, 2012 9:27 pm

Suicide, yes, but have there been cases of homicide?

Post #18 » by **humanrefutation** » Sat Dec 1, 2012 9:34 pm

I don't know of any, tbh.

But, I think the issue is one's mental state, not so much how they react as a result of that mental state. For example, it has been claimed that Chris Henry's bizarre behavior which resulted in his death was related to the CTE that was discovered in his brain during the autopsy afterwards. In that case, he didn't commit suicide. But he made an irrational decision that some researchers believe was exacerbated by CTE.

Then again, there are people who commit murder/suicide who have never suffered a blow to the head, let alone a concussion. But, I can't help but wonder when something like this comes up with an NFL player.

emunney · Post #19 » by **emunney** » Sat Dec 1, 2012 10:20 pm

Ugh, they had a three month old together and he went to the team facility to thank Pioli and Crennel for everything they'd done for him. Just crushing. Sadder by the minute.

Ayt · Post #20 » by **Ayt** » Sat Dec 1, 2012 11:02 pm

humanrefutation wrote:I certainly get the financial reasons why the NFL wouldn't cancel the game. But this has to be terrible for his teammates and the organization, and especially horrifying for Crennel, Pioli, and the other team employee that watched him kill himself.

I've had to talk a friend out of suicide before - that whole experience sticks with me to this day. If he ended up doing it in front of me, I think it would have had lifelong psychological effects on me. I can't imagine the type of impact this'll have on Crennel and Pioli.

Or the mother of the woman he murdered who watched it happen.

Edit: Apparently they are now saying it was Belcher's mom. Either way, awful.