An autopsy showed that Washington State quarterback Tyler Hilinski, who died a few months ago of suicide, was in the early stages of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, at the time.
A medical examiner said the 21-year-old Hilinski had the brain of a 65-year-old, his father told the Today Show on Tuesday. A Sports Illustrated report earlier in the day revealed the results of the autopsy. CTE is a degenerative brain disease often associated with football, as researchers have linked the disease to concussions, and symptoms of CTE include suicidality.
“It was a shock, to get those results and to find out that he had it,” Kym Hilinski said on Today. “And to realize that the sport that he loved may have contributed to that diagnosis.”
In January, Hilinski shot himself with a teammate’s rifle without that teammate’s knowledge, and was found afterward by his fellow Cougars teammates before police arrived.
In a study last year, researchers found CTE in 99 percent of the 202 deceased NFL players they examined. It is impossible to know if a player has CTE while they are still alive, which is why Hilinski’s parents did not know before his suicide. The Hilinskis have since founded their own organization, Hilinski’s Hope Foundation, in order to promote mental health and wellness for student athletes.
