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Green Bay Packers star Micah Parsons spent time Friday remembering his former teammate, Marshawn Kneeland, who tragically died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound this week.
Officials confirmed the 24-year-old died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound following a police chase in Texas. Parsons spoke of the respect he has for Kneeland.
“Marshawn is a guy who loved his anime, loved his video games like everybody 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 high respect for him. If there’s anything his family needs, I’ll be the first person to help or offer anything I can do to offer a person. I just hope he finds his peace and his family peace in the 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/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Parsons also spoke about the pressures athletes face and mental health as it relates to athletes.
“We’d be fools to act like what we’re doing isn’t enough pressure as it is,” Parsons said. “We live in a pressure job where you’re expected to deliver and you’re expected to play 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 stink. You stink. We hope you die.’ There are a lot of harsh words and harsh things being said about people.”
COWBOYS’ DAK PRESCOTT SHARES EMOTIONAL MESSAGE AFTER LOSING TEAMMAKER MARSHAWN KNEELAND
Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland (94) walks off 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 walks by 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 be there for each other whether we’re going through tough times or whatever. It’s a tough job, but it’s a job. Sometimes I think people shy away, that sometimes you wish things were different because it was Marshawn that we wish we could have been there for him so I just try to be there for the people more than the football side.
The star quarterback said some of his former Dallas Cowboys teammates couldn’t understand the loss of Kneeland.
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Micah Parsons of the Green Bay Packers watches from the sideline 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 heartbroken,” Parsons said. “They can’t understand it. Losing a teammate is like a brother. This is someone — people don’t realize how much we’re actually together, like time spent. That’s the challenge. Like 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.”
Kneeland was in his second season with the Cowboys after being selected 56th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. He died just days after he recorded his first NFL touchdown in a game against the Arizona Cardinals on Monday night.
