An already heartbreaking story has taken a grimmer turn.
Appearing on NBC‘s Today Show to discuss a Sports Illustrated documentary on their son, the parents of Tyler Hilinski revealed that an autopsy confirmed that the Washington State quarterback suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) at the time of his death. The 21-year-old Hilinski was found dead in his residence January 16 of what was later confirmed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Following Hilinski’s death, his parents, Kym and Mark Hilinski, were contacted by the Mayo Clinic, the world-renowned hospital in Minnesota who requested their son’s brain for study. That study, according to SI.com, showed that Hilinski’s CTE was in Stage I, the lowest level of the disease.
From Today.com: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.”
“The medical examiner said he had the brain of a 65-year-old, which is really hard to take,’' Mark told Hoda Kotb on Tuesday. “He was the sweetest, most outgoing, giving kid. That was difficult to hear.”
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“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 says in the documentary. “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.“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