Former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland, who tragically passed away last November, would have been celebrating his first Father’s Day as a dad this year. His son, Makhai, was born on June 11th, and the tragedy that took Kneeland’s life still weighs heavily on the Cowboys and the NFL. But the men who knew him aren’t letting his story fade away; they’re making sure little Makhai knows who his father was.

Former Cowboys defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton, who is with the Tennessee Titans now overseeing their run game and defensive line, showed up to a press conference on Wednesday, June 17th, wearing a pin with Kneeland’s jersey number (94) on it. When asked about it, a visibly emotional Whitecotton spoke his heart out.

“Man, I miss Marshawn every day,” Aaron said with a distant look in his eyes and a voice heavy with emotion. “I love him. I’m really thankful that we have his baby boy here to carry on his legacy, because Marshawn was a special guy, man. He was a special guy to me. And I’ll leave it at that.

“I miss him every day,” he added. “I know his family missed him every day. This world misses him every day. He was an amazing young man. And gosh, like I said, I miss him. But I’m also thankful that I got to meet him and be around him.”

Marshawn’s girlfriend, Cataline Mancera, was pregnant at the time when he passed away last November at 24 from a self-inflicted g**s**t wound near the Cowboys’ facility. She has often shared personal updates and tributes to Marshawn on her social media since then, and announced their son’s birth on Instagram on Monday, June 15th.

On Tuesday, head coach Brian Schottenheimer showed the locker room a picture of Marshawn’s baby boy before their mandatory minicamp, and shared the story later.

“We actually showed a picture of Makhai today, so congrats to Cataline,” Schottenheimer said. “I actually saw her a couple of weeks ago at [DeMarvion Overshown’s] wedding. She was there. Everybody’s doing great. The guys were fired up and excited.”

Last November, when Dallas played their first game after Kneeland’s passing – a road trip to Las Vegas for Week 11 – Aaron Whitecotton walked into Allegiant Stadium wearing his #94 jersey. The rest of the Cowboys came into that game carrying a lot, too – helmet stickers with Kneeland’s jersey number, tribute shirts before the game, and franchise quarterback Dak Prescott showed up with Kneeland’s favorite quote, “one love,” on his wrist tape.

The Cowboys had also launched the Marshawn Kneeland Memorial Fund to help his girlfriend, Catalina, and their unborn child last year. And now that little Makhai is here, the Cowboys have lined up another tribute for him.

“We’ve got a marker down in the players’ lounge supporting, and it says ‘One Love,’ but bright star, because that was one of Marshawn’s sayings,” Schottenheimer said. “When you’re part of our family, you’re family for life, and so we want to make sure we do a great job of looking out for her and baby Makhai.”

A coach across the country still wears his number on a pin. His team puts up his sayings on a wall. Baby Makhai will grow up with a name, a story, and people who refuse to let Marshawn Kneeland disappear. Maybe that’s what “One Love” really means…

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