From discussing his brother’s death by suicide to opening up about mental health, Dak Prescott has not been shy about speaking about tough topics. The star quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys proved that again on Thursday. This time, Prescott sent a stern message about the Breonna Taylor verdict that has generated strong reactions from pro athletes.

Dak Prescott isn’t afraid to talk about tough topics

As one of the NFL’s biggest stars, Dak Prescott’s words carry a ton of weight. This offseason, the Cowboys quarterback has not been shy about talking about tough topics.

In April, Prescott’s brother, Jace, died unexpectedly. Months later, we learned that the 31-year-old died by suicide. In a recent interview with Graham Besinger, Prescott opened up about his brother’s death while calling attention to the topic of mental health.

“You can’t even put into words the burden,” Prescott said. “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.”

In addition, the Cowboys star opened up about his own battles with depression and anxiety. Prescott provided some advice for those dealing with mental-health issues.

“It showed me how vulnerable we have to be as humans—how open we have to be,” Prescott said. “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 never too much for the people in the family that you love. So you have to share these things.”

Prescott sends stern message about the Breonna Taylor verdict

For Dak Prescott and many NFL players, the topic of police brutality has been heavily discussed over the last few months. In the wake of George Floyd’s death and the Jacob Blake shooting, NFL players have not been shy about sharing their opinions on police brutality, racial inequality, and the criminal justice system.

Additionally, the Breonna Taylor case, which involved the fatal shooting of an unarmed 26-year-old woman inside her apartment, has elicited powerful messages and emotional reactions nationwide. That proved to be the case Wednesday following news that no murder charges will be filed against the police officers involved in the Taylor shooting. Instead, former detective Brett Hankison will be charged with multiple counts of wanton endangerment.

In speaking with the media on Thursday, Prescott sent a stern message about the verdict.

“That’s disgusting. I don’t understand that one at all,” he said. “There’s a lot of things in this country that I don’t understand that we’re looking at right now. It’s about us educating ourselves. It’s about us getting registered to vote and going out there and doing that and making sure that we’re educated on who we’re voting for and what they’re going to do when they’re in office.”

Prescott further added, “That’s one of the biggest things, I’d say, that we have taken a step as a team, talking about the importance of voting, the importance of our voices to be heard throughout our community and be leaders there. But that’s simply unacceptable, and I don’t understand an officer not being charged in that case.”

The Cowboys star isn’t the only athlete speaking up about Taylor

The Breonna Taylor verdict has caused many athletes to take to social media to express their frustrations. LeBron James, who has refused to stay silent on social justice matters, delivered an emotional message on Twitter after finding out the news about the Taylor case.

“I’ve been lost for words today! I’m devastated, hurt, sad, mad! We want Justice for Breonna yet justice was met for her neighbors apartment walls and not her beautiful life,” James wrote as part of his tweet.

Washington Football Team quarterback Dwayne Haskins spoke about the Breonna Taylor verdict at his weekly press conference. The 22-year-old did not hold back in his criticism of the decision to not file murder charges. (H/T Washington Post)

“It’s really disgusting to think about because of how fragile human life is and the importance of your last breath,” Haskins said. “If it was my sister or my mom or my dad, or if I have kids one day, I’ll be frank: I’ll be pissed off. Very pissed off.”

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