Late NFL Player Marshawn Kneeland’s Family Blame Police For His Death: ‘Something Here Is Just Not Right’

One week after Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland’s death at 24, his family is questioning whether he really died by suicide.

“I truly think they killed him, I truly do,” Kneeland’s cousin, Jasmine Kneeland, told the Daily Mail in an interview published on Wednesday, November 12, referring to Texas police officers. “Because why else would he run for his life then kill himself in a porta-potty.”

She went on to say that “this is nothing like him at all,” adding, “Marshawn is not a violent person. He is not a hot head. Something here is just not right.”

The former Western Michigan University athlete was scheduled to attend a family reunion in Michigan this past weekend, she said.

“I mean, why would he do something like that all of a sudden? That’s not the person I know. Our family is utterly devastated,” Jasmine told the outlet. “He was supposed to be here with us in Grand Rapids. Not dead after a police chase.”

The NFL star’s uncle also shut down rumors that drugs and alcohol may have been contributing factors in his nephew’s death.

“I can tell you Marshawn hated drugs, absolutely hated them. He never smoked, he never touched alcohol and he disliked prescription medicine,” Preston Kneeland told the Daily Mail. “He would always try to find a natural way to treat things.”

Kneeland — who scored the first and only touchdown of his professional career just days before his death — was struggling with mental health issues and texted his family goodbye on Thursday, November 6, according to TMZ.

Following a police pursuit, he crashed his car and fled on foot, before being found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a portable restroom, according to the Dallas Morning News.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.