Eric Ellsworth Hipple (born September 16, 1957) is a public speaker and a former professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player.

Early life and education

Eric Hipple was born in

Lubbock Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northwe ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Hipple attended

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

with an athletic scholarship. At and , he was a star

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for the team. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the university's Jon M. Huntsman School of Business.

Career

Hipple was selected by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

in the fourth round of the 1980 NFL Draft. He played his entire 10-season NFL career for the Lions from 1980 to 1989. He missed the whole 1987 season with a sprained thumb. His best year as a pro came in the 1990 season when he threw 0 interceptions. ;Career statistics * 102 games * 1,546 attempts * 830 completions * 10,711 yards * 55 touchdowns

Post-athletics career

As a result of the

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

in 2000 of Hipple's 15-year-old son, Hipple is involved in educating people about the dangers of depression. Hipple delivers speeches on

suicide prevention Suicide prevention is a collection of efforts to reduce the risk of suicide. Suicide is often preventable, and the efforts to prevent it may occur at the individual, relationship, community, and society level. Suicide is a serious public health ...

and

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

at high schools, youth groups, members of the military and their families, local organizations and corporations. He is the Outreach Coordinator of the Depression Center of the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. A documentary film by the Depression Center features Hipple. He also co-authored a study about depression and pain in retired professional football players. Hipple's book, ''Real Men Do Cry'', was published in 2008. It discusses Hipple's playing career with the Lions, his bouts with depression, and details of the warning signs of teens who have died from suicide.

Personal life

In 2000, Hipple's 15-year-old son Jeff died by suicide via shotgun. Hipple has acknowledged he has also suffered from bouts with depression, including his adolescence. After his son's death, Hipple abused drugs and alcohol. and was convicted of drunk driving and served time in jail. He filed for bankruptcy as well. In 2005, Hipple disarmed a man wielding a knife at a party in Michigan.

In other media

A football poster of Hipple can be seen on the wall in the 1983 feature film ''

Mr. Mom ''Mr. Mom'' is a 1983 American comedy film directed by Stan Dragoti and produced by Lynn Loring, Lauren Shuler, and Aaron Spelling. It stars Michael Keaton (in his first lead role), Teri Garr, Martin Mull, Ann Jillian, and Christopher Lloyd. It ...

''. He was a guest star in the show

Home Improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation, or remodeling is the process of renovating or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electrical and plumbing), ...

as himself in Season 3 Episode 18 building a house for

Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a US non-governmental, and nonprofit organization which was founded in 1976 by couple Millard and Linda Fuller. Habitat for Humanity is a Ch ...

guest starring several top name athletes and Former President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

References

External links

*
"Freeing Eric Hipple"
ESPN video feature {{DEFAULTSORT:Hipple, Eric 1957 births Living people Players of American football from Lubbock, Texas American football quarterbacks Utah State Aggies football players Detroit Lions players