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PULLMAN — The family of a Washington State University football player who committed suicide in January said the 21-year-old quarterback had extensive brain damage that’s been linked to concussions from playing the sport.
Tyler Hilinski was found dead in his apartment with a gunshot wound and a suicide note on Jan. 16.
In an interview Tuesday on NBC’s “Today,” Mark and Kym Hilinski said the Mayo Clinic requested to do an autopsy on their son, which they allowed.
“We were in complete shock,” Mark Hilinski said. “We wanted to know everything we could and find out anything we could.”
The results of the autopsy showed Tyler Hilinski had signs of extensive brain damage known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, which has been found in hundreds of former NFL players.
“The medical examiner said he had the brain of a 65-year-old, which is really hard to take,” Mark Hilinski said.
The sophomore quarterback was last seen alive the morning of Jan. 16, when he dropped a teammate off for class. Police said the rifle used by Hilinski belonged to a teammate and that Hilinski took it without the teammate’s knowledge on or before Jan. 12.
Hilinski’s parents said they saw no signs their son was suffering from depression or mental illness.
“It was a shock to get those results and find out that he had (CTE) and to realize this sport he loved may have contributed to this diagnoses,” Kym Hilinski said. “There weren’t really any verbal signs from Tyler to us or to anybody at Washington State that he was suffering.”
Kym Hilinski said her son had never shot a gun until the day before he died.
Tuesday’s interview comes alongside the debut of a Sports Illustrated documentary about the family’s search for answers.
“Did football kill Tyler?….” Kym Hilinski says in the documentary. “I don’t think so. Did he get CTE from football? Probably. Was that the only thing that attributed to his death? I don’t know.”
The family’s other son also appears in the documentary. Ryan Hilinski was a star quarterback at his high school in California and is set to play at the University of South Carolina.
Ryan Hilinski said his brother’s brain damage diagnosis scared him and made him worry he may suffer what his brother went through, but that he’s still committed to playing football.
“I think Tyler would want me to do the same thing. I don’t think he’d want me to stop,” Ryan Hilinski said.
Tyler Hilinski appeared in eight games for WSU during his sophomore season, throwing for 1,176 yards and seven touchdowns. His most memorable outing came in the second week of the season, when he led the Cougars from a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Boise State 47-44 in triple overtime. Hilinski threw for 240 yards and three touchdowns coming off the bench and was carried off the field after the victory.
His only start came in the Holiday Bowl against Michigan State, although he played extensively in a loss to Arizona. He was expected to be the starting quarterback this fall.
Washington State said it’s adding more safeguards to help students, including a second formal mental health screening for all football players and meetings with all varsity sports athletes to consider mental health risks.
Meanwhile, the family has started the Hilinski’s Hope Foundation. Its aim is promote mental health among student athletes.
“People need to keep talking about suicide and mental illness and mental health. We need to erase the stigma,” Kym Hilinski said. “We’re trying to fund programs that support them and their mental health. They need it. There’s not enough out there.”
“Medical examiner said he had the brain of a 65-year-old, which is really hard to take.” Parents of Tyler Hilinski, the promising football player who took his own life at 21, discuss the findings from their son’s autopsy. pic.twitter.com/UTVcnWNIm3
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) June 26, 2018
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