Topics: Mental Health, NFL, Social Media, Sport
The Dallas Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders paid touching tributes to Marshawn Kneeland in the former team's first clash since his death.
The NFL community was rocked when news of the Cowboys star's untimely death broke two weeks ago.
The 24-year-old died in the early hours of Thursday November 6, days after scoring his first touchdown against Arizona Cardinals.
Kneeland was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after reportedly crashing his car and fleeing the scene on foot. He had reportedly refused to pull over for a traffic violation in Frisco, Texas, sparking a late night police chase on Wednesday night (November 5).
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Since, Kneeland's pregnant girlfriend, Catalina Mancera, has spoken out about his passing, thanking people for the 'love, prayers and messages' sent her way.
On Monday night (November 18), the Cowboys took on the Raiders in their first game since Kneeland's passing.
Both teams made meaningful gestures in memory of the celebrated defensive end during the game at Allegiant Stadium.
The Cowboys wore custom Kneeland t-shirts during pregame warmups and had decals on their helmets to honor their late teammate while staff members wore pins with his No. 94 on. Kneeland was further honored with a moment of silence before kick-off.
Meanwhile, the Raiders wore suicide prevention shirts with the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
Elsewhere, Cowboys' quarterback Dak Prescott was spotted with the phrase 'one love' written on his wrist tape - a phrase Kneeland often said.
The Cowboys beat the Raiders in a 33-16 victory.
Post-match, Prescott, who lost his older brother Jace to suicide in 2020, told the media of the significance behind his wrist tape tribute: "It’s one of these moments you realize this is just a game, and life is what's important, and our connections, our relationships... 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, like Marshawn lived by,” he said, as per USA Today Sport.
"Hopefully we'd 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.”
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer expressed his pride for his team post-match and declared Kneeland part of their family 'forever,' adding: "We're not done honoring him."
He added: "But it's been tough, man. I mean, these past 11 days been really tough. I'm proud of those guys, because just the way they played... they played with Marshawn’s to play style.”
Putting sporting rivalries aside, fans of both teams came together on social media to praise the tributes.
Responding to a photo of the Raiders' suicide hotline jerseys, one Cowboys fan on Twitter said: "Ton of respect for the Raiders."
"Class acts!" a second praised, as a third wrote: "Good move by both squads."
If you or someone you know is struggling or in a mental health crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.
