Former WSU offensive Lineman Abe Lucas is honoring the memory of his former teammate, who died by suicide in 2018, on the NFL’s biggest stage this weekend.
PULLMAN, Wash. — Former Washington State offensive lineman Abe Lucas is representing the Washington State University Cougs on the NFL’s biggest stage as he plays for the Seahawks in Super Bowl LX.
Lucas is also representing his former teammate, Tyler Hilinski, and athlete mental health.
Coug fans likely recognized the charity featured on Seahawks offensive lineman Abe Lucas’ cleats this season, “Hilinski’s Hope.”
“It means a lot to us, and we’re just so excited for him and all of the Pacific Northwest for what they’re going to experience this Sunday,” said Kym Hilinski, the co-founder of Hilinski’s Hope.
Kym and Mark Hilinski created the foundation in honor of their son, Tyler, who died by suicide in 2018. Abe Lucas played with Hilinski in his first year at WSU.
And while Kym and Mark didn’t know Lucas personally, he was part of a team that supported them after the loss of their son.
“We hugged every single player, and Abe must have been one of them, and they all took a knee in front of us. I can’t even tell you how powerful and how emotional that was, and so, underneath it all, underneath the pads and the helmets, they’re just big, wonderful guys with big hearts,” said Kym.
The foundation’s mission is to raise awareness and provide mental-health resources for student athletes. Mark Hilinski says, while they’re grateful for the support, he’s even more grateful that it’s creating opportunities to talk about mental health.
“Those are the little things that are like ‘Hey, that’s great, they had to talk about it!’ They had to think about it, they had to talk to an agent, or a manager, you know,” said Mark Hilinski.
Outside of asking Lucas what his favorite Tyler story is, they’d love to find out more about his passion for mental health awareness and to thank him for bringing awareness to football’s biggest stage.
“The fact that you’re willing to do this in a way that leads others to see it, leads us to talk about it, you’re only increasing our reach and our mission to make sure that nobody suffers in silence,” said Mark.