Dak Prescott and the Cowboys got a big win over the Raiders on Monday Night Football in what was a very emotional evening for the team as it was their first game since the death of their teammate, Marshawn Kneeland, who died by suicide at the age of 24 just 11 days earlier.
The Cowboys found a number of different ways to honor Kneeland before and during the game and afterward Prescott delivered a powerful message about being vulnerable while processing such grief.
"It's not necessarily about, oh, I'm weak, but it's about being vulnerable," Prescott said during his appearance on SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt. "And, you know, to show courage, you have to show some kind of weakness, right? Or something that you need to overcome. And it was just a time for us to gather together, right? Understand that this game, it's bigger, right? It's about life and these connections that we're making, the brotherhoods, the friendships.
"We've got to be there for each other regardless, on the field, off the field. And Marshawn was such a kind, loving, sweet soul that it hurt. It hurt everybody, but we're able to, as you said, face that grief and use that as a strength for us to move forward."
Here's that postgame moment.
“It’s one love,” Prescott said, via the Dallas Morning News. “We get one life, right? We all do. We’re responsible for being the best neighbor to the person next to us and giving them everything that they need in life that we’re capable of giving. To show the world one love and try to go out there and play focused and allow my play and my focus and my relationship with my teammates to hopefully be an example of that.”
He also spoke more about being the power of vulnerability, saying:
“To have courage or to show strength, there has to be that counter of that. There has to be that moment of vulnerability. There has to be that moment of weakness for you to even exemplify your courage or exemplify your braveness or how strong you can be. There has to be adversity to overcome. With that being said ... it’s real. We all have foreign thoughts, and not all of us are capable and strong enough to counteract those thoughts and understand they are foreign. That makes us feel different and puts us in different moods, and I think that’s the most important part: being aware of who you are and your moods and your daily acts. Not everybody understands that. When you get in those down moments—those depressed moments—it’s about talking. It’s about being a good neighbor.”
Those were some impactful words by Prescott. The Cowboys improved to 4-5-1 with the win but more importantly they honored their late teammate in the best of ways both on the field, and off.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Dak Prescott Had Powerful Quote About Being ‘Vulnerable’ While Processing Grief.
