ACC seeks to bolster mental health treatment for athletes
The News & Observer
Several times during his speech on Tuesday, Mark Hilinski paused a few moments to compose himself. He always cries, his wife said later, when he addresses an audience and tells the story of his son, Tyler, the former Washington State quarterback who died by suicide in 2018.
In a large banquet room filled with about 200 people, Mark and Kym Hilinski served as the keynote speakers at the ACC’s inaugural Mental Health and Wellness Summit at a Durham hotel. In front of an audience of college athletes, coaches and administrators, the Hilinskis recounted the story of their son’s death.
“This is the part we think we can add, is to continually drive down the stigma (of mental illness),” Mark Hilinski said after his talk. “If I’m going to get up there and bawl like a baby – if that’s what it takes, that’s what we’ll do.”
Mental health has become a focal point in college athletics in recent years, with advocates calling for athletes to have more, and improved, access to mental healthcare resources and treatment. In January, the Power 5 college athletics conferences – the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC – passed legislation that requires their schools to provide mental health services to all athletes.
The ACC’s summit, commissioner John Swofford said on Tuesday, represented one of the conference’s first formal steps to provide resources to address the mental well-being of its athletes. At the start of the summit, Swofford spoke of the league’s recent competitive achievements. He highlighted Virginia’s national championship in men’s basketball and Clemson’s in football.
