Data: WMU police did 2 welfare checks on Marshawn Kneeland

Western Michigan College police had been twice referred to as to carry out welfare checks on Marshawn Kneeland whereas he performed for the college, together with by coaches who fearful about him possessing a gun, in response to data obtained by ESPN.

Kneeland, a defensive finish for the Dallas Cowboys, died Nov. 6 of an obvious self-inflicted gunshot wound in Frisco, Texas. He was 24. The paperwork obtained by ESPN through an open-records request present that there have been considerations about his psychological well being as early as 2020.

One incident, in June 2023, got here 10 months earlier than Dallas picked him within the second spherical of the NFL draft. Western Michigan coach Lance Taylor and then-defensive coordinator Lou Esposito referred to as police with a “concern that [Kneeland] just lately separated from his girlfriend” and that they “wished to ensure he was mentally match to own a firearm,” in response to a campus police report.

“After talking with Kneeland, he voluntarily turned the firearm into WMUPD for safekeeping till cleared by a counselor,” the officer wrote.

Twelve days later, Kneeland retrieved his gun from police after acquiring a letter from a social employee on the Western Michigan Sindecuse Well being Heart stating that Kneeland was examined and decided to not be a risk to himself or others, in response to the report.

Taylor and Esposito didn’t instantly reply to messages in search of remark Friday. “WMU’s soccer program and our larger group are heartbroken by the lack of Marshawn,” in response to a press release from the Western Michigan athletic division supplied to ESPN. “He was deeply cherished and cared for right here. Bronco Athletics offers holistic assist for all our student-athletes together with psychological well being providers with skilled counselors. Marshawn made use of these psychological well being sources throughout his time at WMU. All the soccer workers was pleased with Marshawn, who grew to change into a captain and a pacesetter in this system, and finally a graduate of Western Michigan College.” The counselor named within the report didn’t reply to messages from ESPN.

In one other incident in September 2020, an unnamed good friend of Kneeland’s referred to as 911 to precise concern for his well-being, and police discovered Kneeland close to practice tracks in Kalamazoo.

“Kneeland advised me he was sitting throughout the tracks in hopes a practice would run him over to finish his life,” the responding officer wrote in a report. “Kneeland advised me life general and the dearth of taking part in soccer at WMU had him feeling down. He advised me he had been feeling like this for some time. When requested to make clear how lengthy he felt that means, he didn’t reply. Kneeland stated he doesn’t see a therapist or take any remedy for his psychological well being disaster.”

The report states that Kneeland didn’t need to search medical assist however that Kent County sheriff’s deputies who responded to the scene despatched Kneeland to Borgess Hospital (now Beacon Kalamazoo). The report doesn’t state when or why Kneeland was launched from the hospital.

A Cowboys spokesperson declined to reply questions Friday about whether or not the staff had been conscious of Kneeland’s earlier incidents.

Kneeland’s cousin Nicole Kneeland-Woods, a household spokesperson, advised ESPN that she had no information of these incidents. “None in any respect,” she stated.

On Thursday, Kneeland’s household held a personal memorial service in Wyoming, Michigan. Kneeland-Woods stated it was invitation-only, with household, shut pals and a few of his coaches.

“Proper now for us, it is simply attempting to maneuver ahead,” she stated. “Now we are able to actually begin the therapeutic course of.”

Texas police discovered Kneeland’s physique within the early morning of Nov. 6 after he had evaded officers throughout a visitors pursuit, crashed his automotive and fled on foot. In line with a report launched Friday by the Texas Division of Public Security, a trooper noticed Kneeland’s automotive dashing down the freeway, generally touring greater than 145 miles per hour and making “a number of unsafe lane adjustments.” The trooper finally overpassed Kneeland’s automotive. Whereas officers looked for Kneeland, they stated they acquired info that he had expressed “suicidal ideations.”