Records: WMU police did 2 welfare checks on Marshawn Kneeland - ESPN

Western Michigan University police were twice called to perform welfare checks on former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland while he played for the school, including by coaches who worried about him possessing a gun, according to records obtained by ESPN.

Kneeland, 24, died Nov. 6 of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in Frisco, Texas. The documents obtained by ESPN via an open-records request show that there were concerns about his mental health as early as 2020.

One incident, in June 2023, came 10 months before Dallas picked him in the second round of the NFL draft. Western Michigan coach Lance Taylor and then-defensive coordinator Lou Esposito called police with a «concern that [Kneeland] recently separated from his girlfriend» and that they «wanted to make sure he was mentally fit to possess a firearm,» according to a campus police report.

«After speaking with Kneeland, he voluntarily turned the firearm into WMUPD for safekeeping until cleared by a counselor,» the officer wrote.

Twelve days later, Kneeland retrieved his gun from police after obtaining a letter from a social worker at the Western Michigan Sindecuse Health Center stating that Kneeland was examined and determined not to be a threat to himself or others, according to the report.

Taylor and Esposito did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment Friday. «WMU's football program and our greater community are heartbroken by the loss of Marshawn,» according to a statement from the Western Michigan athletic department provided to ESPN. «He was deeply loved and cared for here. Bronco Athletics provides holistic support for all our student-athletes including mental health services with professional counselors. Marshawn made use of