In April, the #DallasCowboys announced that Dak Prescott’s brother Jace Prescott died at 31 years old.
The Cowboys quarterback discussed his brother’s death in an interview published Wednesday and revealed that the cause of death was #suicide. Prescott and his brother Tad made the revelation in an interview with “In Depth with Graham Bensinger.”
“I’ll never get another hug in my life like the ones he gave,” Prescott told Bensinger.
Dak and Tad told Bensinger that their mother’s colon cancer took a heavy toll on Jace. Peggy Prescott died after a long battle with the disease in 2013. Jace spent daily time with her as the cancer progressed and ravaged her body. Dak was in college at Mississippi State at the time.
‘Didn’t know how to be vulnerable’
“You can’t even put into words the burden,” Prescott told Bensinger. “It’s something only Jace knew. And he didn’t necessarily share that. Jace never was really much of a talker.
“When something like that was a huge burden on him, he didn’t know how to share it — didn’t know how to be vulnerable about it.”
How Dak found out
Prescott he said he was experiencing his own bout of #anxiety and #depression that’s become familiar to many during the #pandemic when he learned about his brother’s death. He said he woke up from his first night of good sleep in a while to missed calls from Tad and his father walking into his bedroom to break the news of Jace’s death.
Tad, in tears, told Bensinger that he didn’t recognize how much pain Jace was in prior to his death.
“I just saw my brother three days before it happened, and everything seemed fine,” Tad said.
#JamesDonaldson notes:
Welcome to the “next chapter” of my life… being a voice and an advocate for #mentalhealthawarenessandsuicideprevention, especially pertaining to our younger generation of students and student-athletes.
Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use.
Having gone through a recent bout of #depression and #suicidalthoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space. #http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticle
Dak encourages others to seek help
Prescott encouraged people who are dealing with #depression to reach out to loved ones to ease their burdens rather than hold things inside.
“He had a lot of burdens on him,” Prescott said of Jace. “He had a lot of tough things, and my sense of saying that is it showed me how vulnerable we have to be as humans, how open we have to be.
“Because our adversities, our struggles, what we go through is always gonna be too much for ourselves and maybe too much for even one or two people, but never too much for a community or too much for people in the family that you love. So you have to share these things.”
Anyone struggling with thoughts of #suicide can all the #NationalSuicidePreventionLifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
James Donaldson is a Washington State University graduate (’79). After an outstanding basketball career with WSU, he went on to play professional basketball in the NBA with the Seattle Supersonics, San Diego/L.A. Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, and Utah Jazz. He also played for several teams in the European Leagues in Spain, Italy, and Greece, and he toured with The Harlem Globetrotters to wrap up his career. James was an NBA All-Star in 1988 while playing center for the Dallas Mavericks. In 2006, James was inducted into the Pac-10 Sports Hall of Fame and also the Washington State University Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2010, James was elected as a board member for the NBA Retired Players Association.
James frequently conducts speaking engagements (motivational, inspirational, educational) for organizations, schools, and youth groups.
In 2010, James was the recipient of the NBA Legends of Basketball ABC Award, awarded for outstanding contributions in Athletics–Business–Community.
He believes in being a role model for success and professionalism to the scores of young people to whom he devotes so much of his time. He currently serves on several boards and committees and is a member of many organizations.
James believes in developing relationships that create a “Win-Win” environment for everyone involved, and in being the best he can be!
For more information about James Donaldson or to request he speak at your event, contact him at:
www.StandingAboveTheCrowd.com
JamesD@StandingAboveTheCrowd.com
1-800-745-3161 (voicemail & fax)
James Donaldson is the author of “Standing Above The Crowd” and “Celebrating Your Gift of Life” and founder of the Your Gift of Life Foundation which focuses on mental health awareness and suicide prevention, especially pertaining to our school aged children and men.
If you’re interested in having James come and speak to your group of young adults, business entrepreneurs, aspiring political and community leaders, and athletic teams, please contact him at jamesd@yourgiftoflife.org and or leave a personal message for him at 1-800-745-3161. Keep up with him and read about how he is reaching out and making a difference in the lives of so many around the world at www.yourgiftoflife.org
