Report: Luke Falk withdraws from Senior Bowl to attend funeral of teammate
Washington State quarterback Luke Falk has withdrawn from the Senior Bowl to fly back to the West Coast to attend funeral services for former Cougars teammate Tyler Hilsinki, according to a report in The Seattle Times.
The newspaper cited Falk’s agency, Rep 1 Sport.
Hilinski’s funeral will be held at Damien High School in La Verne, Calif., on Saturday.
Hilinski took his own life Jan. 16 with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Whitman County (Wash.) Coroner confirmed Hilinski’s death as a suicide last week.
“I think we really want Tyler to be remembered, and for (suicide) to be talked about,” Falk said earlier this week from Mobile, Ala., via The Seattle Times. “We should do something about it. I feel like at times we feel like we can’t express our emotions because we’re in a masculine sport and him being a quarterback, people look up to you as a leader.
"He felt like he really probably couldn’t talk to anybody. We’ve got to change some of that stuff. We have to have resources and not have a stigma of people going to that."