Crennel tried to talk Belcher out of suicide

Football

Crennel tried to talk Belcher out of suicide

KANSAS CITY - Kansas City Chiefs head coach Romeo Crennel said on Monday he tried to talk linebacker Jovan Belcher out of shooting himself outside the team’s practice facility before the player committed suicide on Saturday.

“I was trying to get him to understand that life is not over, he still has a chance and let’s get this worked out,” Crennel said at a press conference Monday afternoon.

Crennel described Belcher as a hard-working, loyal player. “I don’t know what made him snap,” Crennel said. “I was surprised.”

Chiefs’ chairman Clark Hunt said Sunday that doctors and coaches told him they knew of no physical or emotional issues that would have signaled the Belcher shootings.

“He’s not someone we’ve ever had an issue with, in any regard,” Hunt said in comments posted on the Chiefs’ Web site Monday.

Reuters