Cowboys are making the team for the first time this week since the sad passing of second-year guard Marshawn Niland. In a bye week that typically gives players a chance to get away from both the stadium and the daily grind of football, they were instead faced with a sudden wave of complex emotions related to the loss of their teammate.
And now the next chapter begins. Niland will be the focus of interviews, press conferences and soundbites as another prep week gets into full swing. Then there will be another twist to tragedy when the Cowboys take the field in Las Vegas on Monday for their first game without Niland. Then again next weekend when they play at home for the first time. And so on and so forth, a constant stream of constant reminders of a deep loss that goes far beyond the game.
This week, Hall of Fame running back and Cowboys icon Emmitt Smith spoke with Cowboys Wire and shared some thoughts on how today's players will try to survive these difficult times.
“Let me paint you a picture. You walk into a locker room that you're very familiar with, and you have a guy that you've seen for weeks, for months,” Smith explained, “and that locker is empty. He's no longer there. Not because he was traded, not because he was cut. He is no more because he is no longer alive.
“We're talking about mental toughness. We are talking about mental and emotional stress and tension. This is what you are asking these athletes to go through. You're asking them to bury their feelings—to bury their feelings so they can prepare to return to the fight. And it will be a difficult time.”
Smith was taking a break from work with Ready to savean initiative that allows him to visit college campuses across the country to talk to young people about opioid awareness and the dangers of accidental overdose. Smith is a spokesperson for NARCAN, a life-saving nasal spray that can be easily administered by anyone in an emergency.
Last week's news out of Dallas hit Smith differently than many others; The always impetuous king personally experienced a sudden loss during the football season.
Legendary Cowboys offensive tackle Mark Tuiney died in 1999 from an accidental drug overdose, just a year after finishing a 15-year career with the club. Smith and many of the Super Bowl dynasty who were still playing were forced to continue an 8–8 season while waiting for answers about their former teammate that never came.
Smith was also in Arizona in 2004 when the Cardinals had to deal with the offseason loss of former player Pat Tillman, who was killed in action while serving overseas in the U.S. Army. Smith was never Tillman's teammate, but the guard's death weighed heavily on the locker room during Smith's final professional season.
Niland's departure will impact every player in the Cowboys organization equally, most notably for the remainder of this season.
“That's part of what we're dealing with,” Smith said, “and I think our team and a lot of other teams that deal with things like this, they go out on the football field with a purpose. And the purpose might be to play for him. You're already going to play for each other no matter what. But now you're playing for a different reason. You want to respect that.”
While the Cowboys will wear special stickers on his helmet that memorialize Niland, the memories will be that much deeper for every player who knew him.
However, Smith warns that working in professional football will require a degree of separation.
“When you cross that line to go play a game, that’s where your focus should be. This is where your heart should be. This is where your spirit should be 100% [of the time] that you are on this field.”
In fact, Smith says, returning to the field in the middle of a game situation may very well be the best place for the Cowboys' players. Constant interview questions and empty locker rooms often take a heavier toll.
“When you cross that line, you can let your mind relax a little,” Smith says. “And then when you get back there, you have to activate it again. This is a special type of training. This is what a lot of these kids and guys have gone through for years and years and years to prepare for these moments. But nothing ever prepares you for such sudden death. It's hard.”
Smith, 56, said he was a bit of a relief that the Cowboys weren't scheduled to play last weekend and won't take the field in Week 11 until Monday night after Sunday's extra schedule is completed.
“We're taught to enjoy something for 24 hours or get through something for 24 hours,” Smith noted, “because you have to be ready for the next thing. But in life this does not always happen. So you have to have time to grieve.”
The grief won't be over by the time Monday's game begins. But Smith hopes the break will give Niland's teammates and coaches a chance to sort through their feelings, come together as a brotherhood again and then decide to move on while honoring his memory.
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