After the headlines fade: Honoring Marshawn Kneeland by expanding the conversation on suicide and firearms
by: Heather Gehlert
posted on Thursday, November 13, 2025
Last week, football fans were shocked to learn that Dallas Cowboys’ defensive end Marshawn Kneeland died by suicide. News quickly spread beyond the football community, with outlets as large as USA Today, The New York Times, and People reporting his death.
Despite a high volume of headlines, what’s missing from most coverage of Kneeland is the underreported reality that suicide is the leading cause of gun deaths in the U.S. One way we can honor him is by having difficult but necessary conversations about self-harm and guns — and how we can work together to prevent more tragedies.
Suicide by any cause remains shrouded in stigma, with obituaries rarely mentioning it, especially when the individual who died is not a celebrity. Add a factor as politically charged as guns, and it becomes even harder for people to discuss, even though open conversations are exactly what we need more of.
Another reason why silence surrounds guns and suicide is that many people simply do not know how prevalent the link is. BMSG research has found that in California, firearm suicide is dramatically underreported in the news compared to its actual prevalence — a trend that appears to be true nationally as well. We also know that most coverage of guns appears in the aftermath of more extreme but less common events like mass shootings, which make up less than 2% of gun deaths in the U.S.
When we talk about guns primarily in the aftermath of shootings, or the political debates that ensue, we miss an opportunity to address the quieter, everyday crises happening in homes across the country. This is especially true for communities of color: Data suggest firearm suicide rates are on the rise in the Black community, particularly among Black men, though those data points haven’t gotten much attention.
Advocates and journalists alike can use this moment to create more visibility — and empathy — in media coverage about suicide prevention and firearms.
One group working to understand firearm-related beliefs, perceptions, and behaviors, with a goal of preventing injuries and deaths, is the Missouri Foundation for Health. A recent report from MFH includes results from a survey of more than 1,800 Missouri adults, which the foundation hopes will inform prevention policies and practices. The report notes that most U.S. youth who die by suicide use a firearm belonging to a family member, underscoring the need for safe storage and other ways of limiting access, especially during mental health crises. Public health practitioners and reporters can use the report’s findings to help expand and shift conversations about suicide prevention and firearms.
That may seem like a lofty goal in what feels like a deeply divided time, but data from the Pew Research Center has found that everyday Americans share a lot of common ground in their views on guns. Ultimately, people across the political spectrum value safety, but we can’t make progress without having honest conversations and working to remove the taboo from topics like suicide.
Journalists looking to increase or strengthen their reporting on suicide can find guidance in this resource developed by Poynter, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, among other groups. Advocates can find more information, including sample messages, in this messaging guide that BMSG developed with our partners at the Hope and Heal Fund.