New England Patriots wide receiver Mack Hollins raised awareness for suicide prevention upon arrival for their game against the New York Jets on Thursday night.
One week on from the tragic death of Dallas Cowboys star Marshawn Kneeland, who died by suicide at the age of 24 last Thursday, Hollins turned up to Gillette Stadium wearing a white T-shirt with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline number (988) on the front.
Around the number, which had been written onto his shirt, he also added words such as ‘alone’, ‘tired’, ’empty’ and ‘vulnerable’ – seemingly listing the type of emotions that should trigger someone to call the helpline.
On the back Hollins also wrote ‘YOU ARE WORTH IT!!!’ with more positive words circling it, such as ‘healed’, ‘supported’ and ‘loved’.
The 32-year-old gave photographers a twirl to show them the front and back of his moving T-shirt when he arrived ahead of his showdown with the Jets in Foxborough.
Kneeland died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after fleeing a routine traffic stop in Frisco, Texas just over two days after he scored his first NFL touchdown for Dallas.
Patriots star Mack Hollins raised awareness for suicide prevention before their game Thursday
Hollins paid a subtle tribute to Marshawn Kneeland after the Cowboys star’s suicide last week
To add to the heartbreak, Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer revealed earlier this week that his late player’s girlfriend, Catalina Mancera, is currently pregnant with their first child.
The Cowboys will wear a helmet decal to honor their fallen teammate for the remainder of the season, owner Jerry Jones confirmed on the radio.
‘We all are having to share the sorrow, all are having to share the different ways or different things that come through your mind. It’s not light that as a teammate, Marshawn touched everybody in many different ways,’ Jones said Tuesday.
‘The very definition of team is we love each other, we rely on each other. That’s the ethos of what a team is about. Everybody expects that this is a rough game, it takes some real mental toughness to play the game, but in fact there’s a lot of love for each other there that is shared in unique ways, and you get to know each other pretty good.
‘Sports emphasizes so many things that we all want, to some degree, to hang our hat on. But this is a reality check that at the end of the day, the human things of having someone’s company on earth, being able to be involved with them for the time that we’re here, they’re here, all of those things come to mind in times like this.’
On Wednesday, Schottenheimer also announced that the team have set up a memorial fund to support Catalina and the unborn baby.
‘She’s pregnant and so we want to make sure she is taken care of and the baby is taken care of for the rest of their lives – it’s very important to our guys and to us,’ he said. ‘The organization have been amazing, we’ve started the Marshawn Kneeland memorial fund where we can all give and support Catalina.’
It was Catalina who warned cops that Kneeland had a gun and that she feared he would kill himself after he refused to pull over over a traffic violation in Frisco, Texas.
Kneeland’s girlfriend, Catalina Mancera, is pregnant with their first child, it has been revealed
The NFL star sent his family a group text saying ‘goodbye’ during the drama involving Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, according to a police audio dispatch. Cops lost sight of Kneeland, who then crashed his car into a pick-up truck and fled on foot. Officers found his body in a port-a-potty in the early hours of November 6.
Earlier this week, Mancera, 22, spoke to the Daily Mail of her raw agony in the wake of Kneeland’s shocking death.
‘It’s too much,’ said Mancera, who was seen leaving the apartment building in Plano, Texas where the defensive end had lived before his death.
‘I’m grieving hard right now. It will be a long time before I’ll feel ready to talk at any length.’
She added: ‘We’re still in the early stages of everything. We are working on the funeral arrangements. I don’t know where it’s going to be yet.’
If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or at http://988lifeline.org.
