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Rob Demowski
Green Bay, Wis.– Micah Parsons Spent time on Friday remembering and reflecting on my ex dallas cowboys TeamMite marshon neylandWho died on Thursday from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to officials.
Parsons, who was traded from the Cowboys to the Packers in August, played one season in Dallas with Neyland, a second-round draft pick in 2024.
Parsons said, “Marshawn is a guy who loves his anime, loves his video games like nobody else.” “For me, from the moment I came in the locker room he’s always shown me nothing but respect. He respected me as a player; he respected me as a person. So, I have nothing but high respect for him. If his family needed something, I would be the first one to help or do whatever I can to give it to a guy. I just hope he can find his peace and his family’s peace in this situation.”
During his regularly scheduled session with reporters, Parsons spoke at length about Kneeland and mental health as it relates to professional athletes.
“We would be fools to act like what we do isn’t enough pressure,” Parsons said. “We live in a pressure job where you’re expected to perform 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 suck. You stink. We hope you die.’ A lot of harsh words and harsh things are said about people.
“As athletes, most of us see it – some of us don’t – but we choose to wait until someone realizes how what we say and do can affect people. We don’t all understand what happened to ‘9-4’ [this] For example, but being there for each other is important for mental health, whether we’re going through a tough time or whatever. It is difficult. This is a difficult task. But sometimes it’s hard to be human. I think sometimes people avoid the fact that you’re human. They try to go away from him. Sometimes you wish things were different because… obviously, it was Marshon who we wish we had been there for, not Marshon in uniform. So, I’m trying to be there for people more from the personal side than the football side.”
Since arriving in Green Bay, Parsons has spent most of his time away from his family. But he said he was grateful that some of his family members were already in Green Bay this week before Sunday’s game against the Eagles when they got the news about Neeland.
“We should all just use this time to pray. Keep praying — pray for your loved ones, pray that people find peace,” Parsons said. “And then also continue to reach out to my loved ones. It helped me reach out to some of my friends back home, former teammates, about how I valued the time we spent together. Life is too short so we really need to start appreciating a little bit more and just love people the right way and be purposeful with our intention and how we treat people and how we accept people.”
Cowboys players are off this week as the team is on a bye, making Parsons one of the first current or former teammates of Neyland to speak publicly.
“I have to find a way to embrace my emotions, embrace what I’m feeling for his family, for his former teammates,” Parsons said. “I’ve got former teammates who are devastated. They can’t understand it. Losing a teammate is like a brother. It’s that person – people don’t realize how much we really are together, like the time spent. That’s the challenge. No matter what it is, the NFL is like a brotherhood. It doesn’t matter who it is. If you’re sweating, bleeding with somebody whether it’s the opposite team or the same team, It’s a brotherhood. It’s challenging to try to put it aside, but we have to find a way because there is hope on Monday night.”
Parsons said he learned of Kneeland’s death Thursday morning and learned shortly thereafter that authorities said Kneeland died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
According to Frisco (Texas) police, the department helped the Texas Department of Public Safety locate the vehicle, which eluded troopers during a pursuit and entered the city at approximately 10:39 pm local time on Wednesday.
DPS troopers found Neeland’s vehicle crashed on southbound Dallas Parkway near Warren Parkway. According to the report, Kneeland fled the scene on foot and officers searched the area with the help of K-9 and drone units.
While authorities were searching for Kneeland, a dispatcher told officers that people who knew him had received a group message from the player to “say goodbye.” According to recordings by Broadcastiff, which archives public safety radio feeds, they are concerned for his welfare.
About three hours later, Kneeland was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
ESPN’s Todd Archer contributed to this report.
