Cowboys DT Solomon Thomas stresses importance of mental health after death of teammate Marshawn Kneeland
Content warning: This story contains references to suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide and needs support now, call or text 988 or chat with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988lifeline.org.
With the Dallas Cowboys moving through the aftermath of Marshawn Kneeland's death, one veteran on the team spoke up about the importance of mental health Thursday.
Solomon Thomas, a nine-year NFL player and former third overall pick out of Stanford, delivered an extended monologue to reporters about the environment in which Kneeland reportedly died from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound after a police chase.
The full comment, from The Athletic's Jon Machota:
Someone could be smiling, someone could be dancing, laughing, having a great time, expressing all this joy, but on the inside, they could really be fighting a battle that you never know about. You don't know what the chemicals are telling them in their brain. You don't know the trauma from their childhood. You don't know everything they've been going through. And that's why it's so important to be kind.
It's so important to ask people how they're doing. It's so important to tell people the resources around them, that therapy is OK as a man. Therapy is OK as a woman. These are things that we need to go through because you never know what battle someone's going through. It's hard. It's tragic. It's such a young life that should be here. This is why mental health is so important.
So many people struggle with it around the world, and in our country, on football teams, in classrooms. If you look at the mental health statistics, they start at the age of 9. Kids are dying by 9 to suicide. It's something our whole nation needs to take seriously. Get off social media, believing everything is just highlights. That's not life. Life is about the adversity, the hard times, the sad times, the depression, the sadness, the anxiety. These are all feelings of human experience, so we just have to let people feel human and be human."
As a member of the same position group as Kneeland, Thomas was close to the 24-year-old defensive end. He recalled to reporters that Kneeland would often pepper him with questions such as, When we win the Super Bowl, can we get matching tattoos?" and, "If our kids are born at the same time, can they grow up as best friends?"
It's been a somber week in the NFL, with little to be done beyond trying to learn what can help in the future. Kneeland sent out concerning group texts following the chase, which prompted Cowboys security to request a welfare check that ultimately led to the discovery of his body.
Kneeland was the Cowboys' second-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and had so far tallied 26 tackles, five tackles for loss and one sack in 18 games (four starts). As police searched for him, his girlfriend reportedly told them he had a history of mental health issues.
Following their bye week, the Cowboys are scheduled to play their first game since Kneeland's death on Monday against the Las Vegas Raiders.