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Green Bay Packers star Micah Parsons spent time Friday remembering his former teammate, Marshawn Kneeland, who tragically died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound this week.
Authorities confirmed the 24-year-old died of a self-inflicted gunshot after a police chase in Texas. Parsons spoke of the respect he has for Kneeland.
“Marshawn is a guy who loved his anime, his video games like everyone else,” Parsons said, according to ESPN. “For me, he always showed me nothing but respect from the moment he walked into the locker room. He respected me as a player; he respected me as a person. So, I have nothing but great respect for him. If there’s anything his family needs, I’ll be the first person to help him or offer him anything I can do to a person. I just hope he finds peace for himself and his family in this situation.”
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Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Micah Parsons (11) leaves the field with defensive lineman Marshawn Kneeland (94) before the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 29, 2024. (Kyle Ross/Sportswire Icon via Getty Images)
Parsons also spoke about the pressures athletes face and the mental health of athletes.
“We’d be foolish to act like what we’re doing isn’t enough pressure as it stands,” Parsons said. “We live in a high-pressure job where you’re expected to rise to the occasion and perform a certain way, and when you don’t, it’s easy to say, ‘Oh, man, that’s so sad,’ but a lot of people are hard on people. ‘You suck. You stink. We hope you die.’ There are a lot of harsh words and harsh things said about people. »
COWBOYS’ DAK PRESCOTT SHARES EMOTIONAL MESSAGE AFTER LOSING TEAMMATE MARSHAWN KNEELAND
Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland (94) leaves the field after the game against the New Orleans Saints at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on September 15, 2024. (Tim Heitman/Imagn Images)
“As athletes, most of us see it – some of us don’t – but we choose to wait until someone passes away to realize what we say and what we do, how it can affect people. We don’t all understand what happened to ‘9-4’ in (this) case, but mental health is important to being there for each other, whether we’re going through tough times or anything. It’s tough. It’s hard work. But it’s hard to be a person sometimes. I think sometimes people get away from the fact that you’re human. They try to get away from that sometimes you wish things were different because… obviously it was Marshawn the person we wish we could have been there for him, not Marshawn the uniform side.
The star defensive end said some of his former Dallas Cowboys teammates can’t understand the loss of Kneeland.
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Micah Parsons of the Green Bay Packers watches from the field during an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders at Lambeau Field on September 11, 2025 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
“I have former teammates who are devastated,” Parsons said. “They can’t understand it. Losing a teammate, it’s like a brother. It’s someone – people don’t realize how much we really are together, like the time we’ve had. That’s the challenge. Regardless, the NFL is like a brotherhood. It doesn’t matter who it is. If you break a sweat, break blood with someone, whether it’s the opposite team or the same team, it’s a brotherhood.”
Kneeland was in his second season with the Cowboys after being selected 56th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. He died just days after recording his first NFL touchdown in a game against the Arizona Cardinals on Monday night.
