On January 16, Washington State quarterback Tyler Hilinski shot himself in the head with a rifle that he had stolen from a teammate four days earlier, according to police
The parents of Washington State quarterback Tyler Hilinski say the former Washington State quarterback had the degenerative brain condition chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) at the time of his suicide.
‘Did football kill Tyler?’ Kym 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.’
On January 16, Hilinski shot himself in the head with a rifle that he had stolen from a teammate four days earlier, according to police. He was seen that morning, when he dropped teammates off at class, but when he didn’t show up for practice, two teammates went to his apartment, where they found his body.
Hilinski was only 21, and had appeared in just 11 college football games, yet he was still diagnosed with Stage 1 CTE, which is connected to depression, among other symptoms.
Hilinski’s parents donated his brain to the Mayo Clinic, which posthumously diagnosed the former Washington State quarterback with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)
Wearing a hat with Tyler Hilinski’s number on it, Steven Strobis holds Emily Peterson during a candlelight memorial service for the Washington State quarterback on January 18
Although they said he did not give any verbal signs, both parents said they noticed changes in Hilinski before his suicide, and Mark even told SI that ‘we missed it and we let him down.’
However, Kym spent the days prior to her son’s death pleading with Tyler, via text messages, to call her because she was worried about him becoming distant.
In the documentary, Kym confessed to continuing to text Tyler’s phone after his death: ‘Hi Ty. I wish you didn’t leave me. I miss you so much.’
CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) is a degenerative brain disease that is caused by repeated hits to the head. It is very similar to Alzheimer’s in the way that it starts with inflammation and a build-up of tau proteins in the brain.
These clumps of tau protein built up in the frontal lobe, which controls emotional expression and judgment (similar to dementia). This interrupts normal functioning and blood flow in the brain, disrupting and killing nerve cells.
Hilinksi’s parents donated his brain to the Mayo Clinic after his death. He was found to have CTE, which has been linked with dementia and suicide, among other issues
Hilinski’s parents, Mark (to Tyler’s right) and Kym (to Tyler’s left) said they missed troubling signs, but the truth is Mrs. Hilinski spent the days prior to his suicide trying to make contact
Gradually, these proteins multiply and spread, slowly killing other cells in the brain. Over time, this process starts to trigger symptoms in the sufferer, including confusion, depression and dementia.
By the later stages (there are four stages of pathology), the tau deposits expand from the frontal lobe (at the top) to the temporal lobe (on the sides). This affects the amygdala and the hippocampus, which controls emotion and memory.
Hilinksi’s parents donated his brain to the Mayo Clinic after his death. A previous study by Boston University found some level of CTE in 110 out of 111 deceased former NFL players.
‘I remember being like kind of numb because you don’t think your son is gonna die and you certainly don’t think he’s going to kill himself,’ Kym says in the documentary. ‘And you certainly don’t think that you have to give his brain to the Mayo Clinic for an autopsy.’
‘They said the tau protein was something you would never see in someone who was 21 years old, but in a much more older, elderly man,’ Kym added. ‘And it was shocking, because we know Tyler. Yes, he was quiet. Yes, he was a little bit more reserved, but he was always happy.’
Hilinski was a promising talent after two seasons with the Cougars. Heading into his junior year, when he was likely to become the team’s full-time starter, Hilinski completed 154 of 209 passes for 1,421 yards and nine touchdowns.
Despite Tyler’s diagnosis, Mark and Kym’s other son, Ryan, has committed to play quarterback at South Carolina.
‘Having those results back, seeing all the people that have been affected by that disease kind of did scare me a little bit,’ Ryan said in the documentary. ‘But it kind of made me take a step back and say, “OK, well what if I get hit a couple more times, will I turn out to what Tyler was going through?”
‘But what do I do if football is not the thing for me?’ he continued. ‘But I’m all bought into football, of course, and I think Tyler would want me to do the same thing. I don’t think he’d want me to stop.’
Hilinski was a promising talent after two seasons with the Cougars. Heading into his junior year, when he was likely to become the team’s full-time starter, Hilinski completed 154 of 209 passes for 1,421 yards and nine touchdowns. He also rushed for two touchdowns