Football Tragedy Murder/Suicide for Kansas City

By Douglas V. Gibbs

Between bounties and concussions, profession football has been under fire.  There are elements in society that would like to see football go away.  Some people call sports a distraction - a tool used by the shadows to keep our attention away from what is really going on.  Whether or not the conspiracy theories hold any merit, one thing is for sure: Whenever tragedies happen in the football family, fingers begin to point.

On Saturday, Jovan Belcher, linebacker for Kansas City, shot Kasandra Perkins, his 22-year-old girlfriend, and then drove down to the stadium to shoot himself in front of team employees, which included members of the coaching staff.

The football player shot his girlfriend after a heated argument, shooting her multiple times.  Their child, a 3-month-old daughter, is currently safe in the care of a relative.

My prayers go out to those impacted by this tragedy, but the reality is that when the finger-pointing commences, things like concussions will be dragged into the conversation, and football once again will be changed with the best of intentions of protecting the players from injuries that could lead to this kind of occurrence.

Belcher thanked the staff for all they had done before killing himself.  He was somehow coherent enough to put out the thank you, yet felt hopeless enough to still take his own life. We may never know what it was that sent the football player to such a level of despair, and perhaps his career, and injuries, had something to do with it.  As a society we will never completely eliminate the occurrence of such tragedies. We cannot prevent all tragedy - that is just a matter of reality.

I am not suggesting we refuse to investigate, or that we refuse to consider that something like concussions had anything to do with it. I am simply saying let's tread lightly, not jump to conclusions, and not assume anything while searching for the cause.  Destroying the foundations of the game to the point that the game is unrecognizable is not necessarily the answer.

These players joined the game of football well knowing the risks involved, and knowing that there are theories circulating that blame the violence of the game on circumstances such as Mr. Belcher's murder/suicide.

Let's try to understand, and if necessary, let's make the game safer, but let's not destroy what the game is because of people that may have been capable of such unstable actions, with or without the game, being a part of their lives.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary