Today, we are looking at acts of domestic violence among professional football players. You can't have missed the news this weekend ... a Kansas City linebacker killing his partner then taking his own life at the stadium where his team would still play the next day. Of the 32 teams in the NFL this year, 21 have had at least one player facing charges of sexual assault or domestic violence. We hear from the man tracking those numbers as well as Chris Cvetkovic of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers as we ask about the connection to domestic violence and sport.

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The NFL & Domestic Violence - Panel

"This morning, investigators in Kansas City are trying to figure out why NFL linebacker Jovan Belcher killed his 22-year old girlfriend, then took his own life."

Relatives say the relations between Jovan Belcher and his girlfriend Kasandra Perkins were strained. The couple had briefly lived apart, but had apparently patched it up by Thanksgiving.

What motivated the Kansas City linebacker to shoot and kill Ms. Perkins this weekend is not known. He didn't tell his coach and general manager when he drove over to Arrowhead stadium following the murder. Instead, he thanked them for all they had done -- and then they watched in horror as he shot himself in the parking lot.

His three month old daughter is orphaned, relatives are heartbroken, teammates are stunned. But the game went ahead Sunday - the day after the murder/suicide - with a big win for Kansas City. Coach Romeo Crennel explained his decision to play. We aired a clip.

Although Jovan Belcher wasn't mentioned by name, a moment of silence preceeded Sunday's game, dedicated to victims of domestic abuse. Fans and broadcasters had mixed reaction to the team's decision to play at all.

Some criticize the team for "letting the game go on" and say the league has a domestic violence problem. Others say this issue is a wider one of violence against women in general. To talk about that, we were joined by three people.

Chris Cvetkovic is the longsnapper for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, which last month partnered with the Manitoba government to take part in an anti-domestic violence public-awareness campaign. He wa in our Winnipeg studio.

Justin Peters is a Slate Correspondent who on Monday published an article called: One Lesson of the Jovan Belcher Murder/Suicide: The NFL Has a Serious Domestic Violence Problem. Justin Peters was in New York City.

And Kevin Powell is an author and activist who tackles issues of violence against women. He has also counseled pro-athletes. He was in Brooklyn, New York.

This segment was produced by The Current's Pacinthe Mattar, Idella Sturino and Jessica DeMello.

Other segment from today's show:

Independent Palestinian legislator Mustafa Barghouti

Deepak Obhrai on opposing the Palestinian Authority's bid

The Free To Be You and Me Movement