Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys will be honoring the late Marshawn Kneeland.
According to the Cowboys' official website, which obtained a transcript from Jones' interview with Dallas-Fort Worth radio station 105.3 The Fan, the Cowboys players will wear a special decal on their helmets for the remainder of the NFL season in honor of Kneeland.
Jones shared on the radio show that he was “devastated” once he heard the news. Kneeland died of an apparent suicide on Nov. 6 following a brief police pursuit. The Cowboys' owner added that he is thankful for everyone honoring the late Cowboys defensive end.
“I do want to say publicly how much I appreciate the national news, the national recognition of him,” Jones continued.
Jones, who has been the Cowboys owner since 1989, he shared how Kneeland will be remembered to him.
“He was very unique in his passion for the game. And of course the saddest thing for someone like me is the fact that he was only 24 years old. You think about all of the time that we're going to miss him, and he's going to be missed by the people around him, he was just getting started,” Jones said of the late defensive end who just made his first touchdown in his last game.
Jones went on to share the reality of what professional athletes go through with the constant ridicule and outside noise.
“Everybody evaluates everybody, it's the nature of it. You're under an evaluation almost from the time you get up until you go to bed,” Jones said. “And so in that area, why couldn't we have seen maybe that there were issues that we all have dealt with in all of our lives?”
“That's the mental aspect of our being. No one gets more attention, no one gets any more scrutiny, no one gets any more critiquing than these guys that play this game. It's a game that you've got to give up yourself when you're hurting a little bit, or give up yourself when you're tired, or give up yourself when you don't feel like it… He lived that life every day,” he said.
It's unclear when the decals will be added to the helmets and what the design will look like as it has not yet been revealed. The Cowboys' next game is against the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday, Nov. 17 at 8:15 pm.
