A post-mortem analysis of Jovan Belcher’s brain revealed a key signature of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, concluding the 25-year-old football player likely was suffering from the degenerative neurological condition.
The news, first reported by The Kansas City Star, is a potentially game-changing development at the intersection of two of the NFL’s biggest threats: head injuries and domestic violence.
Belcher, an All-American at the University of Maine, was a starting linebacker for the Chiefs. He shot and killed his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins, then himself on Dec. 1, 2012.
CTE is a degenerative brain disease found to cause dementia, aggression, confusion and depression among people who’ve suffered repeated head trauma, including football players.
The analysis was performed in New York at the request of lawyers representing the interests of Zoey Belcher, the daughter of Jovan Belcher and Perkins. The results can be used in ongoing litigation against the Chiefs and the NFL.
The attorneys reportedly had the results of the CTE testing nine months ago, but declined to comment about why they were not released until Monday.
The Chiefs declined comment. The NFL did not immediately respond.
CTE has been found to cause erratic and sometimes tragic behavior by some NFL players, perhaps most notably Hall of Fame linebacker Junior Seau, who killed himself last year. The disease, only recently diagnosable before death, has often been found in former and longtime football players.
Belcher is among the younger known cases of CTE. He played four seasons in the NFL, all with the Chiefs, and did not have a documented history of concussions. But friends have said Belcher had multiple concussions, and after the murder-suicide, stories emerged he had become unpredictable and irritable.
Belcher’s lawyers have consulted with a psychologist who is willing to state Belcher’s behavior is consistent with CTE.
Former professional wrestler Chris Benoit was found to have had CTE after killing his wife and son before killing himself in 2007. But murder or other violence against others has not typically been associated with CTE.
Bennet Omalu, credited with discovering CTE, and Julian Bailes, founder of the Brain Injury Research Institute, told The Star that Belcher’s brain could provide important scientific findings.
Maine native Micky Collins, PhD, is an internationally recognized expert in sports-related concussions. He told the BDN last December he does not know the details of Belcher’s situation but cautioned it isn’t prudent to say a head injury led directly to murder.
“The science hasn’t matured to the point where we could say that conclusively,” Collins, the director of the University of Pittsburgh Sports Medicine Concussion Program, said.
He explained a concussion, especially if not properly treated, can combine with other pre-existing factors to affect that person’s behavior.
“There can be emotional issues triggered by this injury,” Collins said. “If you combine concussion with stress in life or with relationship problems or alcohol abuse, I can see how it could be a piece of the puzzle and lead to aberrant behavior.”
Belcher had a blood-alcohol level of 0.17 — more than twice Missouri’s legal limit — on the day of the shootings. However, there was no evidence of illegal drugs in his system.
Belcher’s daughter and mother would be eligible for up to $4 million under the proposed concussion settlement between the NFL and former players if it can be shown that Belcher had CTE. Lawyers representing Belcher’s daughter also have filed a wrongful-death suit against the Chiefs and would need to convince a jury CTE was more likely than not to have caused or been a contributing cause to Belcher killing Perkins and then himself.
News of the murder-suicide hit Belcher’s former teammates and coaches hard.
Last year, at the request of Belcher’s family, his body was exhumed at North Babylon Cemetery in Bay Shore, New York. It was believed to be the first exhumation of a former NFL player and was done with the hope of finding answers, or at least clues, about why Belcher shot Perkins nine times at the home they shared in Kansas City before driving to the Chiefs’ practice facility and shooting himself in the head, leaving Zoey, then 3 months old, orphaned.
The specimen obviously was damaged but was preserved enough for examination. Piotr Kozlowski, dean of research and professor of pathology at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in New York City, signed the report concluded “The microscopic findings of neurofibrillary tangles in young person are fully consistent with the pathological presentation of chronic traumatic encephalopathy as it is reported in the available medical literature.”
Belcher, who played at UMaine from 2005-08, was a three-time Football Championship Subdivision All-American, including first-team honors in 2007 and 2008. He was named the Colonial Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Year in 2008, then signed with Kansas City in 2009 as an undrafted free agent.
Belcher earned a bachelor’s degree from UMaine in child development and family relations, graduating in 3½ years.
Belcher’s murder-suicide is the worst possible example of domestic violence. These findings come as the NFL is under attack for its handling of domestic violence.
Ray Rice was initially suspended for two games, then given a lifetime ban for punching his then-fiancee unconscious at a New Jersey casino in February. San Francisco defensive lineman Ray McDonald continues to play after an alleged assault of his fiancee, and Panthers defensive lineman Greg Hardy continues to play while appealing a domestic violence conviction.
Information from BDN file stories is included in this report
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