Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott confirmed on Wednesday that his brother's death was a suicide, the Dallas Morning News reports.
During an interview with Graham Bensinger for an upcoming episode of In Depth with Graham Bensinger, Prescott explains that his older brother, Jace Prescott, died on April 24 in Orange, Texas. Although the death still remains an open investigation by the Pinehurst Police Department, the Prescott family believes that the 31-year-old took his own life.
"I mean, obviously tears and tears and tears," Prescott explained to Bensinger. "I mean, I sat there and tried to gather what had happened, and wanted to ask why for so many reasons ... and as much as you want to ask why as much as this, I mean, I know my brother, and as we said, he had a lot of burdens on him."
Jace was the middle brother between Dak and their oldest brother Tad. Dak revealed that his father told him of his brother's death while Tad recalled hearing the news from his fiancée Jenna.
"I woke up to a phone in my face with a message from Jenna [fiancée] and ... I’m reading this message and I don’t believe it," Tad said.
In the interview, which will air next week, Dak detailed how Jace was the main caregiver for their mother Peggy during her battle with colon cancer. Peggy died from the illness in 2013, which created a lot of grief for the family. Dak also revealed that he has battled depression and anxiety as well.
"All throughout this quarantine and this offseason, I started experiencing emotions I’ve never felt before," Prescott said. "Anxiety for the main one. And then, honestly, a couple of days before my brother passed, I would say I started experiencing depression. And to the point of, I didn’t want to work out anymore. I didn’t know necessarily what I was going through, to say the least, and hadn’t been sleeping at all."
Jace was the brother that pushed Dak to play quarterback when they were young. He was also a centerpiece of their family.
"He meant a lot to my family," Dak told the media during training camp. "Meant a lot to me. Part of [the] reason I am a quarterback. When I was a little kid, he was the reason I first started throwing the football. It has been a tough year. Been a tough year for me personally. Been a tough year for my family. Been a tough year for this country and this world. It has all been tough."
