Spare Thoughts: Tragedies And Legacies

Javon Belcher was an NFL linebacker, so unremarkable many fans of the game didn't know his name.

Until now.

Chris Benoit was the greatest technical professional wrestler of his generation, but few outside the industry and the WWE's influence knew who he was. Then, came the double murder-suicide that destroyed a family, changed professional wrestling and tore down what was once a sterling legacy.

How we remember Chris Benoit and Javon Belcher is no longer in the hands of the fans who closely followed their careers; those who saw the good times. Now, their legacies are shaped by countless people. Journalists and writers. Everyday people with whom we share our thoughts and opinions.

Just about everyone thinks they already have the story figured out.

There's always a rush to judgement in the wake tragedies such as these, but there's something different when it comes to Javon Belcher. It's even more apparent when compared to the Benoit tragedy just over five years ago.

WWE has done everything short of erasing Chris Benoit from its history. His name is never spoken on its television programs. It's rare that one of his matches appears on a DVD. Once the circumstances and realities of that horrific scene outside Atlanta, Georgia became apparent, WWE was done with Chris Benoit. It all played out in a matter of days.

In The Arrowhead Stadium locker room Sunday, Javon Belcher's uniform and helmet were still hanging in his locker after the Chiefs' emotional win over the Carolina Panthers. Players tried to express their feelings about their teammate, but in most cases words failed them. These are men who called Belcher their friend; their brother. Just as Chris Jericho and others called Benoit their friend as they tried to reconcile their emotions on cable news network talk shows.

Some networks and news outlets have been criticized for how they've responded to the Belcher tragedy. They've been accused of forgetting the real victims, the murdered girlfriend and the infant daughter left without her parents. There have been makeshift memorials in Belcher's memory. I have to admit. It's all a bit unsettling.

Perhaps you've heard the whispers about Javon Belcher's medical history. It appears head injuries were not an issue for him. The Kansas City Chiefs chairman was quoted by the New York Post.

Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt said today that Belcher was "a player who had not had a long concussion history.’’

However, by some accounts, Belcher had been acting strangely recently. At least that's what one of his friends told Deadspin in the days following the murder-suicide.

Belcher "was dazed and was suffering from short-term memory loss. He could not remember the events that had taken place prior to that game

This is nothing new. It's a story we've heard repeated following the sudden and sometimes tragic deaths of other professional athletes. It's the story of Chris Benoit in the years, months and weeks before he murdered his wife and son before taking his own life. Not many are interested in that side of Benoit's story, but in Belcher's case they're ready to listen.

This is a good thing, isn't it? People are willing to consider the possibility that Javon Belcher's terrible acts may not have been his own. They could have been caused by brain damage or related mental illness. What a huge step forward this is from the knee-jerk reaction to the Benoit tragedy.

The hero turned villain of professional wrestling never received that due process. Even among his most die-hard fans, there are many who never want to hear Chris Benoit's name again, or see one of his matches because of the terrible tragedy that ended the lives of him and his family.

The uncomfortable truth for those people is that Chris Benoit was sick.

Experts believe that CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) may have been a cause or contributing factor in the Benoit tragedy.

Benoit had suffered severe brain damage during a decades long career in professional wrestling. Entertaining you. His brain was studied. The conclusions are in black and white, but even at this moment some are shaking their heads while reading this because they refuse to accept that reality. The terrible actions that came at the end of Chris Benoit's life were not his own.

Whether Javon Belcher's actions can be attributed to brain damage incurred by his career in professional football is irrelevant. What matters is that people are willing to consider the possibility. Their minds have been opened to the compounding toll of the violent collisions that make up many of our most popular sports.