Q&A: Greg Bishop on a quarterback, a suicide and a search for answers
Nieman Storyboard
The risks of tackle football run through the center of a tortured conversation that escalates with each new tale of the shattered life of a famous pro. More and more NFL families are stepping up with testimony about the consequences of concussions: depression, impulsive anger, extreme mood swings, memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease.
Now, on the eve of the 2018 season, comes a distinctive story from Greg Bishop of Sports Illustrated that confronts the essential question facing parents – and American sports culture – about the dangers of a time-honored pastime. “The Search for Why” begins almost routinely as a missive on loss:
Cards and collages line the entryway to the Hilinski family’s home in Irvine, Calif., everything signed with My deepest condolences and promises of prayers.
But little is routine in an account that follows one family’s search for answers that might never come as it winds through the big-picture issues surrounding the degenerative brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Bishop uses sensitive reporting and a thoughtful chronology to weave a tapestry that wraps readers in the internal conflict plaguing those close to Tyler, and especially his parents, Mark and Kym Hilinski. We meet them in their living room a few months after the death of their middle son Tyler, who was 21 when he took his own life this past January. The junior, a backup quarterback at Washington State University, had hidden his depression from family members and teammates, whose lack of awareness only compounded their grief.
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic found that Hilinski had stage 1 (the lowest stage) CTE, a revelation that seemingly would add to the growing indictment against football. But in a powerful moment in the story arc, we learn that Hilinski’s younger brother, Ryan, is headed to college to continue the family football legacy despite his brother’s death.
The SI package includes a 24-minute documentary for subscribers, as well as a discussion with Bishop about the project. He credits the family’s cooperation for sharing a story he hopes will foster conversations about depression and suicide as much as it does about the dangers of football.
Storyboard asked Bishop to expand on how he secured and crafted the intimate story of a grieving family. His answers have been edited for clarity and length.
