An unnamed Kansas City Chiefs player has committed suicide at the team facility and the police are on the scene, the team confirmed to ESPN on Saturday morning.
Local reports say the police are operating with the belief the player fatally shot his girlfriend at a house before driving to Arrowhead Stadium and killing himself.
There were no other injuries at the team facility, police said.
I heard the team told the Panthers that the game is still on for tomorrow. How can they still play after this and they said the coach and general manager witnessed him shooting himself in the car.
Should they cancel/reschedule the game? I think its a must at this point.
The question is for whom would they be cancelling the game for? Surely not Belcher since he murdered someone. If the coach and gm are too distraught they can be excused.
A sad story. What should be done about tomorrows Game? Not only are the Players affected but it appears he committed suicide after talking to Coach & GM who must be traumatized.
The NFL advised the Panthers to still travel to Kansas City, at most game will be postponed for a day or two. I would be very surprised if they cancelled the game outright.
The NFL advised the Panthers to still travel to Kansas City, at most game will be postponed for a day or two. I would be very surprised if they cancelled the game outright.
Kansas City overcomes the drama of a player murder/suicide and win their game against Panthers 27-21. Panthers put a scare into KC getting to KC 8 yd line with 3 secs left, but Panthers didn't get a score on that last play of the game.
Cops today revealed that Belcher shot Perkins nine times before committing suicide with a different gun. His mother witnessed the slaying; she had been in town to help Perkins with the new baby, sources have said.
Deadspin posted a couple of emails from a person claiming to be Belcher's friend. He said Belcher has a long history of alchohol abuse and that the girlfriend had moved out of the house (with the baby) a few days prior. He said Belcher argued with his girlfriend constantly because she didn't work. He also said Belcher had a nasty concussion after the Chiefs last game and was suffering from short term memory loss.
The Chiefs are denying that last bit, saying Belcher has no history of head injuries of any kind.
Cops today revealed that Belcher shot Perkins nine times before committing suicide with a different gun. His mother witnessed the slaying; she had been in town to help Perkins with the new baby, sources have said.
Deadspin posted a couple of emails from a person claiming to be Belcher's friend. He said Belcher has a long history of alchohol abuse
That is it right there....he was an alcoholic....as long as he was sober for practice and the game what he did other times wasn't really a concern....he was a so called functioning alcoholic.
Excessive nightly drinking and combining that with taking prescribed pain medication due to his occupation and adding to those two ingredients having handguns at his disposal can and often will lead to extremely irrational behaviour...which sadly in this instance proved fatal.
He was an All-County player in the same county I reside in and everyone who knew him during high school will tell you he was a very kind person...but along his path the drinking started...then the excessive drinking and on and and on.
And in this country excessive drinking is still not taken seriously unfortunately.
The couple had argued over relationship and financial issues for months before the tragic events unfolded on Saturday. The Chiefs were aware of the off-field issues that their 25-year-old linebacker was having and "were bending over backwards" to help Belcher, Police Sgt. Richard Sharp said.
The couple argued early Saturday morning after Perkins attended a Trey Songz concert and had drinks with friends, while Belcher reportedly "partied" in Kansas City's Power & Light District. Belcher was angry that Perkins had been out so late and ended up sleeping in his own car. Police woke Belcher up at 7 a.m. and considered him fit to drive himself home. Upon his arrival, Belcher and Perkins argued again, with Belcher's mother hearing her son say something along the lines of "You can't talk to me like that" before pulling the trigger.
Seconds after fatally shooting his longtime girlfriend, Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher leaned over her in their master bathroom, said he was sorry and kissed her on the forehead.
His mother, who heard gunfire as she stood in the kitchen, rushed to her son's bedroom and watched his remorseful goodbye.
Belcher apologized to his mother, kissed his 3-month-old daughter and fled his rented home in the 5400 block of Crysler Avenue in his Bentley.
The report goes on to state that Belcher drove the five miles to the team's headquarters, where he met Pioli in the parking lot. Belcher exited his vehicle with a gun pointed at his head and told Pioli that he had killed his girlfriend.
Belcher, who signed with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Maine, thanked Pioli for all he had done for him and asked that he and owner Clark Hunt look after his daughter.
Pioli and Crennel attempted to dissuade Belcher from committing suicide, but as police closed in, Belcher reportedly said "I got to go...I can't be here" before kneeling down behind a vehicle, making the sign of the cross and firing a single bullet into his head.
Along with the new details of the night that led up to the horrible crime came a report that Belcher was arrested for criminal mischief while attending the University of Maine.
The Chiefs football player was carousing in downtown Kansas City with a woman other than his girlfriend Kasandra Perkins, a law enforcement official close to the investigation told Sports Illustrated.
Belcher, 25, and the unnamed woman became separated at some point, but he went to her apartment complex to meet up with her. She wasnt there, but two of her neighbors let the intoxicated Belcher sleep in their apartment, they said.
The neighbors woke Belcher for a team meeting Saturday morning, as he instructed them to do, and he returned home to argue with Perkins, 22, before shooting her and himself.
During his college days, Belcher was cited after a University of Maine police officer responded to a call at a hall on campus and found him with cuts on his hand and arm, according to a 2006 police report. The gridiron star was hurt after punching a window because he was upset over a girl, the officer was told.
And in this country excessive drinking is still not taken seriously unfortunately.
It's taken as seriously as it can be. Do you just start locking up people with addiction problems for their own good?
No its not...if it was taken seriously we would not have repeat drunk drivers on the road eventually ending up seriously injuring and even killing others.
If we would just enforce the penalties already on the books for drunk driving would show being serious about it but anywhere in the US if you are popped for drunk driving you can, if you have the cash, hire a local connected attorney and get your drunk driving charge reduced to a driving while impaired charge....just a slap on the wrist...
That is why we have so many repeat offenders...they have no real fear of facing any harsh consequences for their selfish actions of getting shit faced and then getting behind the wheel....
When there are fatalities involved due to a drunk driver background checks often will reveal a prior drunk driving charge. But pay a fine, attend a drunk school and your right back in no time driving once again....
The U.S., especially professional sports, glamorize drinking....but they never show or educate those they are trying to appeal to the dangers of excessive drinking..
Just throw everyone in jail and throw away the key! I mean my uncle lost his license for 1 year the first time and 1 1/2 years the second time yet he still managed to try to commit suicide 6 times over a 10 year period finally succeeding the last time. There's not much you can do no matter how 'serious' you are. If you apply this to the actual thread we are discussing a driver license suspended wouldn't have changed anything! No idea what a DUI or DUI punishment has to do with addiction or even this thread since there was no DUI. As much as I love the failed sidebar discussion I'd much rather stick to the thread topic. DUI stuff can be covered in a new thread if you want to start one.
If this topic is going to devolve into a general discussion of drinking and laws it won't be a sports topic any more. I already split off part of it that started to get into gun laws so it could stay on topic. Let's stick to the sports aspect of it. Thanks.