WSU quarterback Tyler Hilinski suffered from CTE when he killed himself

By The Spokesman-Review • June 26, 2018 5:00 pm
Washington State quarterback Tyler Hilinski, right, looks to pass in the first quarter against Michigan State during the Holiday Bowl at SDCCU Stadium in San Diego on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2017. (Hayne Palmour IV/San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS)
Washington State quarterback Tyler Hilinski, right, looks to pass in the first quarter against Michigan State during the Holiday Bowl at SDCCU Stadium in San Diego on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2017. (Hayne Palmour IV/San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS)

The Spokesman-Review

Tyler Hilinski, the Washington State University quarterback who took his own life early this year, was suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.

In an interview on the Today Show on Tuesday, Mark and Kym Hilinski said the Mayo Clinic requested to do an autopsy on their son after his death. The parents agreed.

“We were in complete shock,” Mark Hilinski said. “We wanted to know everything we could and find out anything we could.”

“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

The results showed that the 21-year-old was suffering from CTE, a degenerative brain disease that has been associated with brain injuries and has put the future of professional football in doubt.

“The medical examiner said he had the brain of a 65-year-old, which is really hard to take,” Mark Hilinski said.

His parents said they had no signs that he was suffering from depression or mental illness.

“It was a shock to get those results and find out that he had it 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.”

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.”