The Kansas City Chiefs offered a moment of silence for victims of domestic violence at Sunday’s game against Carolina but did not memoralize linebacker Jovan Belcher publicly, The Kansas City Star reported.
Belcher fatally shot his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins, on Saturday morning at their home in Kansas City and then drove to the team’s training facility and killed himself with a gunshot after speaking with team officials, including coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Scott Pioli. Just one day after the tragedy, the Chiefs banded together to play their finest game of the season, an inspired 27-21 victory over the Carolina Panthers that ended an eight-game losing streak suddenly rendered trivial.
Belcher attended the University of Maine, where he played football from 2005-2008 and was a first-team All-American as a senior before he graduated in 2009.
There were no decals or patches on the players’ uniforms. Chiefs players gathered in the tunnel leading to the field for a brief prayer before their pregame stretching. A few fans in the half-empty stadium held up signs referencing the shootings.
Quarterback Brady Quinn said the Chiefs were struggling to come to grips with the surreal scene Saturday.
“It’s hard to say a whole lot,” Quinn told The Star. “Unfortunately, I was on Denver when Kenny McKinley took his life [in 2010], and there’s really not any words that can describe the emotions that are involved.
“The big thing is his [three-month-old] daughter. I know a bunch of the guys are going to try to set up a fund to try to take care of his daughter. Her parents are not in her life anymore.”
Team members were left wondering what might have been done to help Belcher or whether there were any warning signs.
“It’s hard mostly because I keep thinking about what I could have done to stop this,” Quinn said. “I think everyone is wondering whether we would have done something to prevent this from happening.”
Quinn described an emotional scene when Crennel addressed the team with news of the deaths.
“It was obviously tough for coach to have to tell us that,” Quinn said. “He really wasn’t able to finish talking to us. We got together and prayed and then we moved on.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Why should the Chiefs hold a public memorial for someone who decided to shoot his girlfriend and himself during a fight? That would be like giving a memorial to a convicted murderer who later hung themselves in prison.
and not only a murderer, but the murderer of the mother of his own child. All through the game they keep talking about him, him, him. It is sickening
I doubt that there were no warning signs.
4 different articles about this on the front page now. This guy is a killer and the attention he’s getting about being a great guy is sickening.
Reminds me of the fawning over “Rev Bob Carlson” the
massive child molester.
Disturbing , for sure.
Quite a commentary on our society.
No wonder Al-Qaiuada hates us.
Sorry Red-headed, this is very different from the Bob Carlson issue. Jevon was a good guy. He is now, also a murderer. How you can bring Al-Qaeda in to this is mind boggling.
Amen! The Al-Q comment makes me wonder what type of person redheaded is……….
Red posts just to see his words on the screen it seems.
Some people go off onto these unimaginable , irrational tangents.
“Irrational” being the operative word.
He’s “trolling” for arguments – another BDN passive-aggressive.
“Good Guys” don’t commit domestic violence/murder…….but the Al-Qaeda line is quite ridiculous.
4 links to 3 stories on the front page over this, way to go BDN!
They had a moment of silence for people to pray/remember/think whatever they want. They were obviously not going to memorialize a murderer……….but in effect, they did acknowledge him and his victim. It was an appropriate response……..honestly, I’m more worried about a couple of posters on here than anything else.
I think the team made the right decision about how to deal with this horrible event. The public memorial would have made a hero/victim of someone who made the ultimate bad choice for his significant other and himself. There is nothing heroic about murder or suicide. My heart goes out to the child left without her parents. It also goes out to the team that has to deal with this sudden and tragic loss.
All this over some stupid concert. It is a shame that the mind or minds of people come to this. There is more to this story than meets the eye.
He may have done a lot of good. But by murder and then shooting him self, living his little daughter with out parents. This little one will have a life time of questions with no answers..Also all the children and young men that may have looked up to him…just way to sad..This so called man’s memories should be burried along with him..He has undone all the good he has ever done by his selfish actions.
Many of us sit and watch as young football players get their brains bashed in and suffer other ravaging injuries to entertain us every week. To give us a moment of respite from our own problems. Then something like this tragedy happens and you express hatred and rage and pass judgement. He deserves at the very least a modicum of sympathy from us as expressed by those who knew him; his teammates.