KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Following the tragic death of former Western Michigan University football player and Dallas Cowboy, Marshawn Kneeland, mental health experts are voicing the importance of supporting athlete’s mental health.
Kneeland died by apparent suicide Tuesday at the age of 24.
Kneeland was a second-round draft pick for the Cowboys in 2024 and coming off his first-ever NFL touchdown during Monday night football.
But under all of that success was the pressure to perform.
“We tend to put professional athletes on this pedestal and think they’ve made it, everything should be fine now,” Dr. Katie Hurley, senior director of clinical advising and community programs with the Jed Foundation, said. “But each of these athletes has fought through different levels of adversity, different stressors, different pressures to get to where they are.”
Dr. Hurley has worked with athletes at various levels — including collegiate — seeing the struggles they face on the field firsthand.
“Every athlete deals with their own internal pressure, paired with pressure from coaches, teammates, family, and fans,” Hurley said.
Being a professional athlete is a job, which Hurley said can be easy to forget. But, while most people can clock out, there is no off-switch for them.
“If you’re Jayson Tatum, you’re not allowed to have that bad game, week, or anything in the public eye,” she said. “To just sort of turn it off and reintegrate into regular life is very difficult.”
Connecting with anyone other than teammates can be a struggle for athletes, said Hurley, but social connection is crucial protection against depression and suicide.
Hurley said an athlete’s mental health is just as important as their physical and encourages them to add resources like therapy along with their training.
“You have to be tough on the field,” she said. “But once you walk off the field or that court, know that there are people out there like me, like so many others who are there to listen and are there to help.”
More information about the Jed Foundation, including resources, can be found online.