Packers' Parsons reflects on loss of ex-Cowboys teammate Kneeland - ESPN

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Micah Parsons spent time Friday remembering and reflecting on his former Dallas Cowboys teammate Marshawn Kneeland, who died Thursday of what authorities said was a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Parsons, who was traded from the Cowboys to the Packers in August, played one season in Dallas with Kneeland, a second-round draft pick in 2024.

«Marshawn's a guy who loved his anime, loved his video games like anybody else,» Parsons said. «To me, he always showed me nothing but respect from the moment he came 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 that he finds his peace and his family peace in the situation.»

During his regularly scheduled session with reporters, Parsons spoke at length about Kneeland and mental health as it pertains to professional athletes.

«We'd be fools to act like what we do 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, it's so sad,' but a lot of people are hard on people. 'You suck. You stink. We hope you die.' There's a lot of harsh words and harsh things that get said about people.

»As athletes, most of us see it — some of us don't — but we choose to wait until somebody passes 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] instance, but mental health is important about being there for each other, whether we're going through hard times or whatever it