OT: Kansas City Chiefs player commits suicide
December 1st, 2012 at 11:04 AM ^
Reports say Jovan Belcher, undrafted LB out of Maine, killed girlfriend then drove to practice facility where he fatally shot himself.
December 1st, 2012 at 11:13 AM ^
I've also heard that the coaches may have been present when he killed himself. I think they went out to the parking lot to check on him and that's when he shot himself. This is a rumor I heard so the validity of it is questionable. I also heard that his girlfriend just recently had a child as well, this just gets even worse after hearing that.
December 1st, 2012 at 11:34 AM ^
For those who don't know who Belcher is...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jovan_Belcher
FWIW, it's wiki, but someone has already inserted that he reportedly shot himself.
December 1st, 2012 at 11:12 AM ^
Terrible news...thoughts and prayers go out to all affected.
December 1st, 2012 at 11:20 AM ^
http://www.kctv5.com/story/20234680/police-chiefs-players-kills-girlfri…
The report from KCTV is fairly scant on details right now, but all the same, this is terrible news and thoughts and condolences to those involved and their families.
December 1st, 2012 at 11:21 AM ^
Man.No words can be said when someone takes the life of another and then themselves.
December 1st, 2012 at 11:28 AM ^
Thoughts go out to the entire KC organization and families that this affects.
December 1st, 2012 at 11:28 AM ^
I am a volunteer strength coach at UMaine. Not that this is ever good for anyone, but it's not something you see often in Maine. I didn't know him becaues I only started working there this summer, but his pictures are all over our walls and he's a member of our Iron Man group in the weight room.
December 1st, 2012 at 11:40 AM ^
Terribly sad, thoughts and prayers go out to the families, and the Chiefs organization
December 1st, 2012 at 11:41 AM ^
Sometimes we forget that professional athletes are people too with their own personal struggles. My prayers go out to his family and her family during the tragic time.
December 1st, 2012 at 11:42 AM ^
Also a person claiming to be his cousin has confirmed.
Thoughts and prayers.
December 1st, 2012 at 11:43 AM ^
Such a tragic event...my thoughts and prayers go out to the organization and all those involved. I think they should cancel tomorrow's game out of respect for the situation.
December 1st, 2012 at 11:54 AM ^
December 1st, 2012 at 11:57 AM ^
Very sorry for the player and those close to him, but this has no logical business on MGoBlog. None at all.
December 1st, 2012 at 12:14 PM ^
Go repeat this on the "Early Games Thread" and the Spurs thread and the Arkansas/Syracuse thread and...
News flash: Sometimes things get posted on here that don't have anything to do with Michigan athletics. That's what the whole "OT" thing is for.
December 1st, 2012 at 12:25 PM ^
Agreed -- it's no more OT than those other threads.
Here's the thing (which I should have included in my original post): There's little chance that any discussion of value (information / entertainment / whatever) will occur here. As for the news value, numerous other sites better suited to the task will cover the story.
Look at the replies -- nearly all of them are some variety of "That's awful. Thoughts and prayers, etc." What else is there to say?
December 1st, 2012 at 12:29 PM ^
Why are there always people who must complain about something that is not forced upon them and is so easily avoidable?
December 1st, 2012 at 12:46 PM ^
That's what I always wonder. If you don't want to read it, why read it? On top of that, why read it, then complain about reading it? I don't get it. It's not like every thread posted on here has a blank title and you have to click on it to see what's inside.
I don't think that some people realize that a lot of MGoBlog users see this news for the first time on MGoBlog. Some users don't even visit other sports sites such as ESPN or SI.
If the mods didn't think this thread was worthy enough of being here, it would have been taken down already. It's as simple as that.
December 1st, 2012 at 5:35 PM ^
Bango. I get most of my sports-ish news here, and I like it that way.
December 1st, 2012 at 12:48 PM ^
Using your logic there is no point in posting this sort of story anywhere, ever. There's no point in discussing it irl, either, as there just isn't anything to say.
December 1st, 2012 at 1:12 PM ^
Why don't you go start your own blog and you can police this kind of input all you want? Otherwise, trust the mods to police this one.
December 1st, 2012 at 12:17 PM ^
Though this appears to be an unpopular stance, posting this kind of information here is a bit of a boundary violation for those coming to a Michigan blog as an escape from the world's challenges. Clearly losses in the Michigan sports community should be addressed here as this blog community is connected in a sense to our players, staff, etc. but I personally would prefer not to be exposed to traumatic news such as this when it holds no relevancy to the blog's content. I do understand the need/desire to connect with others when exposed to such traumatic news, but consideration should be given to the audience and their needs as well. For example, one probably wouldn't share this bit of news with someone who themselves are dealing with a significant loss- and given that we have no idea what other readers are going through, it would be prudent to assume there are other readers experiencing losses themselves, or just don't want to be exposed to this kind of news for whatever reason.
/justmy2cents
December 1st, 2012 at 1:13 PM ^
The thread title is listed OT and is quite descriptive. If you don't want to hear about it, don't click on it.
You really have no reason to whine.
December 1st, 2012 at 1:24 PM ^
i also come to mgoblog for my daily unicorns and rainbows
December 1st, 2012 at 2:47 PM ^
I come here for pictures and videos of Kate Upton and Lacey Chabert.
December 1st, 2012 at 3:35 PM ^
that is dedicated almost exclusively to Lacey Chabert:
December 1st, 2012 at 12:20 PM ^
Don't click on it if you don't want to see it.
December 1st, 2012 at 12:47 PM ^
People post things like this on here because MGoBlog is a unique place for sports-related discussion on these here Internets. I enjoy seeing the perspective of mostly rational people on a myriad of issues, particularly when it is related to football. Now if Justin Bieber did something like this, I'd agree there's no place, but it's sports related, so I think it makes sense.
December 1st, 2012 at 12:58 PM ^
Because Nik would be sad.
Though he might be the only one.
December 1st, 2012 at 1:36 PM ^
The reason I posted this was because I appreciate any and all sports related topics on this board. I usually see a thread about something before Espn or any other main media has put any info out and that's why I check this board so frequently every day. I understand that the topic is sad and sensitive, but you were going to hear about this no matter if you post on this board or not. It wasn't posted for discussion really because like you said there isn't much to say, it was more for spreading information on a sports related topic.
December 2nd, 2012 at 9:22 AM ^
yeah how dare someone post something from the sports world on. sports blog. I'm starting to see why mods are leaving the boards.
December 1st, 2012 at 12:10 PM ^
How on earth can these these guys coach/play a game tomorrow? I cant even imagine what must be going through the minds and emotions of Crennel, Pioli and the rest of the team right now. So sad...so very, very sad.
December 1st, 2012 at 12:22 PM ^
I wonder too, but you've gotta be a professional. There's a time for grief, but the worst thing you can do in a case like this is just shut down. Focusing on work will help everyone come together and move on.
December 1st, 2012 at 12:39 PM ^
Pioli and Crennel just watched a player of theirs put a gun to his head and kill himself. There's no way in hell they should be playing tomorrow.
December 1st, 2012 at 5:01 PM ^
It doesn't matter that this was either a fringe player from the practice squad (and he wasn't; he was a four-year, gameday roster player)...basically, this young man was witnessed at the team facility in a distressed state, directly contacted by both his GM and his head coach, and he THANKED THEM for all they had done for him before shooting himself to death in their presence with a firearm.
You can't understate the violence of a wound caused by a firearm, especially a fatal wound. To anyone who has never seen such an event, trying to explain it is meaningless. There is absolutely no way in Heaven or Hell that the Chiefs should be expected to play an NFL game tomorrow. Teammates who did not witness this will not be prepared to play once they realize that a four-year fixture to this team is not coming back to it. As for the head coach, the playcaller who is responsible for making sure that this team (which admittedly has won a single game all year), he actually SAW this man kill himself.
No one with a heart in their chest would expect a man to prepare and lead a team of athletes for a game within 24 hours watching that.
December 1st, 2012 at 6:11 PM ^
The NFL played on after the JFK assassination. No reason why some player murdering the mother of his child then righteously executing himself should rank ahead of that on the tragedy scale.
December 1st, 2012 at 9:20 PM ^
This was a far greater tragedy for the coaches and players involved than the JFK assassination was for the typical NFL player (and maybe for ANY NFL player) in 1963. We're talking here about people who lost a personal fiend and team-mate, not a distant, though famous, figure.
The tragedy scale is based on personal tragedy, not fame.
December 1st, 2012 at 12:33 PM ^
That's so fucked up
December 1st, 2012 at 12:38 PM ^
Professionalism is one thing, yes. But I think you'd be hard-pressed to find too many businesses (non-essential personnel, etc.) who'd be less than understanding if employees were reluctant to come into work the day after an employee shot and killed himself on company grounds in front of two organizational leaders.
Not to mention the camaraderie and unity required to 'work' in professional football. This guy was a starter... um, imagine being told "hey so-and-so, you're starting tomorrow" under these circumstances. Hard to prepare--this isn't exactly a tweaked hamstring.
Then again, I'm fully aware we're talking about the NFL here.
December 1st, 2012 at 12:53 PM ^
Went through and marked every comment as funny? I find that rather disturbing.
December 1st, 2012 at 1:01 PM ^
Yea I just noticed some idiot is marking comments as funny. Not cool.
December 1st, 2012 at 1:19 PM ^
It happens everytime there's a death/serious post on the Board
December 1st, 2012 at 3:31 PM ^
I believe I have fixed the troll problem for the moment
December 1st, 2012 at 12:55 PM ^
I lived in KC and the KC area for several years, and this is going to be devastating to a lot of people (in addition to the families and team, obviously). It's a small city in a lot of ways, and the Chiefs are a huge part of it. I hope some good can come of this at some point down the road, but it's hard to imagine what that would be...It's always so sad that people cannot get beyond that particularly painful moment in situations like this and get some help.
December 1st, 2012 at 4:03 PM ^
So the NFL has decided to go through with their regularly scheduled games. I guess Goodell really is all about the money, regardless of the player's well-being
December 1st, 2012 at 6:06 PM ^
To stop the whole league from playing due to one individuals immature actions.
December 1st, 2012 at 6:29 PM ^
First off, calling his actions immature....is well immature.
Second, I didn't add it in my post, but it shouldn't be too much to postpone the Kansas City game. That's what I was talking about, not the whole league
December 2nd, 2012 at 9:19 AM ^
you're a idiot