NFL

Three Of The Men Who Saw Jovan Belcher Kill Himself Must Attend Mandatory Counseling

The NFL is forcing head coach Romeo Crennel, linebackers coach Gary Gibbs and general manager Scott Pioli to go to a counselor. This is a very good thing.

Crennel, Gibbs, and Pioli were three of the men in the parking lot of the Chiefs’ practice facility when Jovan Belcher committed suicide. As originally reported by USA Today, the league’s taking a hardline approach to making sure the three get into counseling.

“We’re always going to say ‘I’m OK, I’m good.’ That’s us. Especially inside of this space, from a coaching standpoint or a player standpoint, it’s, ‘I’m good.’ No, we’re not good,” [NFL's vice president of player engagement Troy] Vincent said. “Witnessing that kind of event is horrific. It’s not about closing the door, not about being the gladiator, the tough, immortal football player that we’ve always developed into being. This is serious. This is a mental, visual image that we need to talk through, and this is OK.”

Agreed.

[USA Today]

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