Eight months after his death, former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland has been diagnosed posthumously with Stage 1 chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the earliest stage of the progressive brain disease linked to repeated head impacts.
Boston University's CTE Center made the diagnosis after Kneeland's family donated his brain for research following his death by suicide in November 2025. He was 24 years old.
The findings were released Tuesday (July 7) through the Concussion & CTE Foundation, per ESPN.
Kneeland's family, including his girlfriend Catalina Mancera, issued a statement alongside the diagnosis.
"While this diagnosis does not change the tragedy of his passing, it provides important context about some of the struggles he may have been facing," the statement read. ”We share this information to help people understand what NFL and other high contact sport athletes might be struggling with. Raising awareness is important to us. We continue to remember Marshawn with compassion for the person he was, rather than defining him by the final moments of his life. One Love."
The BU CTE Center was careful to note that a post-mortem CTE diagnosis should not be considered the cause of a suicide, describing suicide as "complex and multifactorial.”
CTE has four stages, with Stage 4 showing the most damage. Stage 1, the stage Kneeland was found to have, is characterized by short-term memory loss, mild aggression, depression, and headaches.
Dr. Ann McKee, director of the BU CTE Center and chief of neuropathology for the VA Boston Healthcare System, said she was not surprised by the findings.
"We have found this progressive brain disease in nearly half of the athletes we've studied who have died before the age of 30," she said, per ESPN. "Thanks to the generosity of our brain donor families, we now better understand the earliest stages of CTE, and it is bringing us closer than ever to diagnosing it during life."
Kneeland was selected by the Cowboys in the second round — 56th overall — of the 2024 NFL Draft out of Western Michigan, where he had been a second-team All-MAC selection. He reportedly appeared in 18 regular-season NFL games over two seasons.
Concussion & CTE Foundation CEO Chris Nowinski addressed the broader implications of the diagnosis directly.
"Mr. Kneeland played in the modern era of concussion protocols and better helmets, and yet he still developed CTE," Nowinski said, per TMZ. "We have no reason to believe the current generation is at a lower risk of CTE than previous generations. Concussion protocols do not prevent CTE, because CTE is caused by repeated head impacts, not just concussions. If we want to reduce CTE risk, we must implement CTE prevention protocols and aggressively reduce the number and strength of head impacts at every level of the game."
ESPN also reported that records obtained by the outlet showed concerns about Kneeland's mental health dating back to 2020, when he was a student at Western Michigan.
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide or a mental health crisis, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 by calling or texting 988.
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