Catalina Mancera, the girlfriend of late Dallas Cowboys star Marshawn Kneeland, is pregnant.
Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer revealed the news in a Wednesday, November 12, press conference.
Schottenheimer, 52, also announced the creation of the Marshawn Kneeland Memorial Fund to help Catalina and the couple’s unborn baby.
“I’d like to take a few moments and offer my condolences to Marshawn’s family, Catalina, his girlfriend,” the head 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 grieve. I got a chance to share a couple of the things that I’ll miss the most about Marshawn.”
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Schottenheimer said Kneeland had “the most playful spirit of any young man I’ve been around.”
“My heart is heavy, my team’s heart is heavy,” Schottenheimer added. “We don’t move on, but we do move forward.”
Kneeland’s Memorial Fund is “dedicated to preserving Marshawn’s legacy and extending his impact through direct support for his surviving partner and unborn heir,” according to the fund’s website.
Mancera, 22, broke her silence on Kneeland’s death in a story with the Daily Mail on Monday, November 10.
“I’m grieving hard right now,” she told the outlet. “It will be a long time before I’ll feel ready to talk at any length.”
Mancera added that the family is still “in the early stages of everything.”
“We are working on the funeral arrangements,” she said. “I don’t know where it’s going to be yet.”
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Kneeland died on Thursday, November 6, after initially evading police who attempted to pull him over for a traffic violation. Authorities later found his car abandoned on the Dallas Parkway and his body nearby. Mancera notified police earlier that night that she believed Kneeland had suicidal ideations and that he had a history of mental illness.
“It is with extreme sadness that the Dallas Cowboys share that Marshawn Kneeland tragically passed away this morning,” the Cowboys wrote in a statement later that day. “Marshawn was a beloved teammate and member of our organization. Our thoughts and prayers regarding Marshawn are with his girlfriend Catalina and his family.”
Kneeland’s cousin, Nicole Kneeland-Woods, told the Daily Mail that he had been with Mancera since their days at Western Michigan.
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“Marshawn shared a very special relationship with Catalina, whom he had been with since his sophomore year of college,” she said. “They supported each other through many stages of life. Catalina is an important part of our family and she’s hurting deeply too.”
“Marshawn was a strong, loving person who cared deeply about his family and everyone around him,” she added.
Kneeland was selected by the Cowboys in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft. After appearing in 11 games as a rookie, Kneeland played in seven games in year two, scoring his first career touchdown just three days before his death during a Monday Night Football appearance against the Arizona Cardinals.
The Cowboys take the field next on Monday, November 17 in Las Vegas against the Raiders.
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