Chiefs' Player Jevon Belcher involved in murder-suicide, shoots self at Arrowhead

[MoreLemonPledge]

No details yet. Just came across on the news.

edit: Sources say the player is Jovan Belcher. Police have yet to confirm.

An unnamed Kansas City Chiefs player has committed suicide at the team facility and authorities are on the scene, the police confirmed to ESPN on Saturday morning.

Local reports say police are operating with the belief the player fatally shot his girlfriend at a house before driving to Arrowhead Stadium and killing himself at around 8 a.m local time. The Associated Press reported the player's age to be 25.

"We can confirm that there was an incident at Arrowhead earlier this morning," the Chiefs said in a statement. "We are cooperating with authorities in their investigation."

There were no other injuries at the team facility, police said.

The Chiefs (1-10) were preparing to host the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

The NFL has told the Panthers to travel as planned to Kansas City on Saturday, the Charlotte Observer has reported, citing interim general manager Brandon Beane.


http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/86...-team-facility

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by BIG_DADDY

I highly doubt they cancel or move the game.

They won't.

Life goes on...

[CaliforniaChief]

Since everyone grieves differently, Al's thought is good. Let the players determine what they want to do. They're grown men who can self-determine just fine. Let them work it out.

[memyselfI]

Originally Posted by SNR

Nobody ever asked you to get banned when you do this shit during the season.

At a time like THIS, you're getting on your unstable soap box and preaching to us. If you're serious, then you're ****ing reeruned. If you're trolling, then you deserve to be banned for a year.

Which one is it, bitch?

Neither. Look, people who have healthy support systems don't do this. Think of how your job might be your sanctuary if your home life is bad or vice versa. Also think about how a quiet person (as he's been described all morning) would have a hard time opening up to other people because it's not his nature.

So he's having problems at home where he can internalize it and no one knows. But he goes to work where his failures are on display. Not just his but his team, the organization, the city. The support system within the players seems to still be there as we've not seen ANY public blaming or dissing of each other. But once he leaves that locker room all good feelings there are no longer. The failings are out in the open and a matter of public discourse. They are on the field and in the air. They are on the television and on the airwaves.

There is no soap box here. There is the fact that someone who feels they have something going right in their lives does not do this unless they are mentally ill which, if that is the case, he is likely not equipped to handle the pressure of the NFL.

The energy at Arrowhead has been toxic for awhile (see their home record) and I think that it would not be surprising if some of the players have been dealing with depression or other types of mental health issues. I'm not saying any of this caused Belcher's actions but to believe they were not ANY FACTOR AT ALL is not realistic.

[Messier]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Nobody views this as anything more than a player grieving for his friend and teammate. They can say what they want. This is really hard for them too.

Right, and there must be conflicting feelings. I'd assume there is grief mixed with real anger.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by Johnny Vegas

NFL.com is stating the league advised the Panthers to fly to KC for the game on Sunday.

yea, but that still leaves the option open of having the players stay overnight and have the game the next day. We don't know if that will actually happen, but it could.

[Lionel]

I've never seen a policy that pays out for suicide, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

[dirk digler]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

It depends on what workplace you're talking about. Not to be insensitive, but you are talking about a decision that has millions upon millions of dollars of an impact, not to mention one that really challenges the competitive balance of the game.

I see the NFL pushing this game off as much as usual. But even after Katrina and Sandy, they made every effort to let the game go on as usual. I can't see the NFL canceling this game. It's a tough spot for them, but I can't blame them for proceeding as planned.

I am under no illusion that the NFL will not cancel the game, maybe reschedule it. This game has ZERO implication on the rest of the season though since both teams are out of the playoffs.

All I am saying is if the NFL does decide to play the game tomorrow the Chiefs should forfeit or just take a knee and walk off the field.

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by The Bad Guy

I don't feel sorry for Belcher one bit. However, I also could never understand the daemons that you must deal with to do something like this.

Having his mother there just makes the situation that much more ****ed up. He was severely mentally ill.

Exactly.

[luv]

I take it ESPN still hasn't gotten the okay to release Belcher's name. Odd, since it seems to be mentioned everywhere else.

[Smed1065]

Originally Posted by Laz

every policy is different but i ASSUME that suicide nullifies 99.9999% of them.

otherwise you would have depressed people signing a policy and killing themselves constantly.

IIRC, it is usually covered after a certain time period.. Like 1 to 3 years.

[SDKCCHIEFS]

what the ****

[lcarus]

God...this just adds to it. THE absolute worst Kansas City Chiefs football season in my life. It's just been a dark, awful year for this team. Hopefully we have a brighter future lying ahead...

[cdcox]

I don't really have anything to add except to offer my condolences to all affected by this tragedy.

[keg in kc]

Holy shit. That's ****ing insane.

[In58men]

This

@BillSimmons: Such a horrible tragedy in KC. Chiefs game has to be postponed 1 or 2 days. How is this even a question? Do the right thing, NFL.