On Saturday December 1st, LB Javon Belcher shot his girlfriend and then proceeded to kill himself at the Chiefs parking facility. Belcher apparently was upset his girlfriend (and mother of their 3 month-old child) came home at 1 am after a Trey Songz concert. Kasandra Perkins, his girlfriend, had also gone out drinking with her friends before she came home. Belcher’s mother, who was visiting her grandchild, saw her son kill his girlfriend. She called an ambulance for Perkins, but she was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Belcher then drove to the Chiefs facility where he spoke with GM Scott Pioli and Head Coach Romeo Crennel. They tried to talk him out of killing himself. After thanking them for the opportunity to work with the organization he shot himself in the head. I cannot imagine how devastating this must be for the organization, the players and most importantly for the families of Belcher and Perkins.
I’m disappointed that he NFL did not postpone the Sunday noon game. The game could and should have been moved to either Monday or Tuesday. As an avid Chicago Bears football fan I love watching it every week. However, football is not the most important thing the world. It’s a game. People’s lives are more important. Although it seems the NFL will not change its mind, I caution them to think in the future that it doesn’t and shouldn’t always be about the ‘bottom line.’ The NFL missed an opportunity to express compassion towards the Chiefs organization and community.
While watching the Chiefs vs. Panthers game, I hope NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell thinks of one person. I hope he thinks of the three-month-old child who is now an orphan. I hope he thinks of how he can one day explain to this infant why his parent’s death seemingly didn’t mean much to him. At least not enough to express any semblance of compassion. I should note that the league discussed the shooting with the Chiefs upper management. They discussed the game. I just think the league should have made the executive decision on behalf of the organization.
What do you think?
