After Kansas City Chief linebacker Jovan Belcher murdered his girlfriend and took his own life at Arrow Head Stadium on December 1, it is obvious that more research needs to be done in order to monitor the effects of concussions more closely.

According to Kansas City police, Belcher got into a domestic dispute with his girlfriend. He shot multiple times and killed her in front of their house at 8:00am.

Belcher then drove to Arrow Head Stadium five miles away and stood in the parking lot with members of the team including the head coach Romeo Crennel and Manager Scott Pioli.

He then thanked them for everything they had done for him; when police arrived he took his own life.

Most would see this issue as just a domestic dispute, but one piece of evidence shows otherwise. After the November 18 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Belcher reported, “He was dazed, had short term memory loss, and could not remember what happened prior to the game or what he said to his girlfriend” according to players.

Since 2011, five players from the NFL have killed themselves. These suicides are linked to concussion like syndromes. Belcher may also be a victim of these mind altering head injuries.

Concussions are very dangerous, and a matter that should be taken very seriously. It would be equivalent to trying to use a phone that has been dipped in water; until you correct the matter and give it time to heal, it will never repair and will never function the same ever again.

On top of this, their three month old baby Zoey is now orphaned, without a mother and a father to look after and care for her.

To make matters even worse, Belcher’s mother was visiting that weekend and witnessed the events that took place on that tragic day.

A family is forever devastated, an entire team and fans are left in dismay, and more and more players are exhibiting concussion like symptoms.

These concussions need to be monitored more carefully  to further prevent more incidents that occurred on December 1.