By Mallory Mattingly
Editor’s note: The following story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know battles harmful thoughts, please dial 988 for help.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott shared a valuable reminder after the death of teammate Marshawn Kneeland.
“It’s one of these moments you realize this is just a game, and life is what’s important and our connections, our relationships,” Prescott said at a press conference. “You know, what we say to each other, how we can lift each other up, how we can be a helping hand, how we can be a true neighbor, a true brother, a true sister, and love one another. One love, right, like Marshawn…lived by.”
“That’s what makes life beautiful. And hopefully, we can all continue to look at our neighbors, look at ourselves, and ask, ‘How can we be better? How can we help better them?’ And just a moment, like I said, to understand that it’s much bigger than this game and it’s about life,” the quarterback emphasized.
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Kneeland, a Cowboys defensive end, died “from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot” wound, according to ESPN, earlier this month. He was 24 years old.
“It is with extreme sadness that the Dallas Cowboys share that Marshawn Kneeland tragically passed away this morning. Marshawn was a beloved teammate and member of our organization. Our thoughts and prayers regarding Marshawn are with his girlfriend Catalina and his family,” the Cowboys said in a Nov. 6 statement.
On Sunday, the Cowboys beat the Las Vegas Raiders 33-16 to secure their first win since the death of Kneeland. The Cowboys “wore a #94 decal on the back of their helmets, warmed up in Marshawn Kneeland t-shirts, hung Kneeland’s jersey in a locker and placed it behind the defense’s bench during the course of the game,” the Dallas Cowboys reported.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones expressed how proud he is of how the team has handled Kneeland’s passing.
“I’m so proud of them,” Jones shared. “I’m proud of every last one of the staff and the coaches, Brian, his leadership throughout and the players. This obviously is tough, but in a way, a game, a competition like this with the Raiders is good therapy to come back and get in it. They know how much that Marshawn loved to compete, how much he loved the Cowboys, and to me it’s just a way of saying ‘this one’s for you, Marshawn.'”
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer echoed Jones, saying, “So proud of these guys and the way that they grieved, cried, laughed, but they wanted to honor him. And we’re not done honoring him. He’s part of our family forever. It’s been tough, these past 11 days have been really tough. I’m proud of those guys, because the way they played today, they played with Marshawn’s play style.”
Let’s keep Marshawn’s family, friends and teammates in our prayers.
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