Former NFL Quarterback to Discuss Breaking Stigma Surrounding Mental Illness at UW

Former National Football League (NFL) quarterback Eric Hipple will present a program about breaking the stigma surrounding mental illness Monday, Oct. 21, at the University of Wyoming.

Hipple will speak from 11 a.m.-noon in the Wyoming Union Center Ballroom. The free UW Division of Student Affairs professional development program is open to faculty, staff and students.

He also will speak to all UW students Sunday, Oct. 20, from 7-8 p.m. in the UniWyo Sports Complex. Food will be provided during the free program. E7220 and Campus Recreation sponsor the program.

Since his 15-year-old son Jeff’s suicide in 2000, Hipple has devoted his life to building awareness and breaking the stigma surrounding mental illness. Hipple received the University of Michigan’s 2015 Neubacher Award for his work regarding the stigma around disabilities and received the Detroit Lions 2010 Courage House Award. He also received the Life Save Achievement Award from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

He co-wrote a study examining depression among retired football players, which appeared in the April 2007 issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. Hipple also received a presidential citation at the American Psychological Association annual convention for his six years of national work on suicide prevention and combating adolescent depression.

Hipple has provided workshops on suicide and destructive behavior prevention the last 12 years. His book, “Real Men Do Cry,” which chronicles his life of football, tragedy and return to triumph, received a Publisher Presidential Award.

He is a former NFL quarterback whose 10-year career was spent with the Detroit Lions. Born in Texas and raised in Southern California, he graduated from Utah State University with a business administration degree.

For more information, call Amanda Matthews, UW suicide prevention coordinator, at (307) 766-3425 or email amatthe5@uwyo.edu.