The mother of former Kansas Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher has filed a wrongful death suit against the team.
According to the Kansas City Star, in a suit filed in Jackson County circuit court Cheryl Shepherd charges her son "unknowningly sacrificed his brain" during his four year NFL career and the team failed to protect him and should have known he was showing signs of cognitive and neuropsychiatric impairment. The suit seeks unspecified damages.
Belcher, 25, killed his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins, with nine gunshots in 2012 at the home they shared. He then drove to the Chiefs' practice facility and killed himself with a single shot to the head, leaving their daughter orphaned.
Belcher's body was recently exhumed at the request of his family at the North Babylon Cemetery in Bay Shore, N.Y. His brain is now being examined for evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.
The Star reports the suit filed by Shepherd repeatedly refers to CTE and asserts the Chiefs "destroyed multiple lives" based on their negligence. The suit also mentions changes in Belcher's behavior, including mood swings, and alleges that the Chiefs "directly caused or directly contributed to cause" Belcher to develop neurological impairments or damage.
A similar suit is expected to be filed on behalf of Belcher's year-old daughter, Zoey.
A Chief's spokesman said the team is aware of the initial lawsuit but would have no comment.
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