Editorial

The State Apologizes For Ryan Hilinski Headline ‘Hilinski Hope Sinks’ Following South Carolina Loss To Missouri

OPINION
South Carolina v Missouri

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David Hookstead Sports And Entertainment Editor
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A South Carolina newspaper is in some hot water after a weekend headline involving Gamecocks quarterback Ryan Hilinski.

Ryan’s older brother Tyler committed suicide while playing for Washington State, and the family proceeded to create the Hilinski’s Hope foundation in his honor. Well, following a lopsided loss to Missouri, The State ran the headline, “Hilinski Hope Sinks.”

The State apologized in part and said, “Our sincerest apologies to the Hilinski family today for the unfortunate headline in our print edition today,” according to Sports Illustrated.

The school also responded to the headline, and stated in part that they were “appalled” by the “unprofessional and irresponsible journalism” that allowed the headline to get printed.

They also demanded The State make a “public effort to help fund and provided educational awareness” about mental health.

While I’m sure there wasn’t anything malicious about the headline and The State wasn’t out to get the Hilinski family, you just need to be smarter. (RELATED: South Carolina Quarterback Jake Bentley Done For The Season With Foot Injury)

Whenever dealing with a family that has lost a member to suicide, maybe think twice before printing something involving the name of their foundation.

Do I think The State should be raked over the coals for this? No. There’s no need to try to end a newspaper over an unfortunate headline, but it’s certainly a learning moment.

 

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Let’s hope everybody involved learns from what happened, take the apology going forward, teach others how to not to it again, and just move on.

It happened, it’s unfortunate, but there’s no point in trying to ruin careers. The story of the Hilinski family is already tragic enough.

We don’t need to make it worse by focusing on this when Ryan is now at the helm of the South Carolina program.