Marshawn Kneeland’s girlfriend, Catalina Mancera, has the full support of the Dallas Cowboys.
In a press conference on Wednesday, Nov. 12, head coach Brian Schottenheimer announced that the team established the Marshawn Kneeland Memorial Fund, “where we can all give and support Catalina.”
“She’s pregnant, and so we want to make sure she’s taken care of and the baby’s taken care of for the rest of their lives,” he said.
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The news that Mancera is expecting the couple’s first baby comes a week after the defensive end died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at 24 years old, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Upon clicking “donate” on the memorial fund’s website, visitors are taken to a donation page that includes a statement on how the donations will be used.
“The Marshawn Kneeland Memorial Fund is dedicated to preserving Marshawn’s legacy and extending his impact through direct support for his surviving partner and unborn heir,” the statement reads.
Schottenheimer said that ensuring Mancera and his unborn child are cared for is “very important” to his players, as Kneeland is “still part of the team.”
The football coach and his team are taking everything “one day at a time,” because “it’s going to hit everybody different,” Schottenheimer said.
“I literally wasn’t sure I could get through my part of last night speaking at his candlelight vigil, and I did,” Schottenheimer continued. “You just take it one day at a time and you don’t have to have all the answers. We don’t have all the answers. We probably won’t have all the answers, but you lean into one another. You love on one another.”
Schottenheimer said the football team will be okay because of the strength they draw from each other. He added that the players will give each other “grace and time” as they navigate the loss of their teammate.
“We’ve got some guys that have been through this,” he said. “I’ve never been through something like this, this close that hits this close to home. There’s guys that I can draw from with their experiences and everybody deals with it different. Some guys getting out on the grass is going to be the best thing in the world for them. Some guys getting out on the grass is going to be painful and that’s okay.”
While the players were off on Wednesday, they met with grief specialists the two days prior, ABC 7 reported.
According to the outlet, the NFL team will wear helmet decals honoring Kneeland for the rest of the season, along with wearing “special T-shirts” during warm-ups for at least the next couple of games. Owner and general manager Jerry Jones also said players will wear special decals on their helmets for the rest of the season.
The Cowboys are set to take on the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on Monday, Nov. 17.
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