Cowboys HC Brian Schottenheimer shares heartbreaking detail about DE Marshawn Kneeland

Last Thursday, Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland died at 24. On Wednesday, head coach Brian Schottenheimer revealed another tragic detail about his death. 

Schottenheimer confirmed Kneeland's girlfriend, Catalina Mancera, is pregnant. The team will ensure that her unborn child is taken care of.

Brian Schottenheimer says Cowboys are establishing a memorial fund for Marshawn Kneeland

"We've started the Marshawn Kneeland Memorial Fund, where we can all give and support Catalina," the coach told the media. "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." 

That's one way the Cowboys and Kneeland's family are mourning after his death. Authorities found the DE dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound following a police chase and accident with a truck. Mancera said she had received a concerning text message from him beforehand and contacted police.

Schottenheimer publicly discussed Kneeland's death for the first time on Wednesday. At the start of his news conference, he spoke for over a minute while holding back tears and fighting voice cracks.

"I'd like to take a few moments and offer my condolences to Marshawn's family, Catalina — his girlfriend," the coach said. "We had an opportunity last night to celebrate Marshawn's life, tell some stories, share, laugh, cry. Marshawn loved the words 'One Love,' so we talked a lot about love as we grieved. I had a chance to really share a couple of things that I'll miss about Marshawn. Those top couple things were he had the most playful spirit of any young man I've been around. His smile could take you to your knees. And in terms of him as an athlete, no one had a better motor than him. 

"My heart is heavy," he continued. "Our team's heart is heavy. We don't move on, but we do move forward."