South Carolina newspaper apologizes for unfortunate headline wording after Gamecocks loss
It was a rough day for the South Carolina Gamecocks and freshman QB Ryan Hilinski, who finished 13-for-30 for 166 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception in a loss to Missouri. He also may or may not have been dealing with an elbow issue.
However, some things are bigger than football, and one of those things is “Hilinski’s Hope,” a nonprofit started by the Hilinski family after Ryan’s brother, Tyler, committed suicide. The organization works to destigmatize discussions about mental health.
Unfortunately, an article appeared in “The State” newspaper in South Carolina on Sunday morning with the headline “Hilinski Hope Sinks,” as you can see below:
How can this happen @thestate pic.twitter.com/fHmgdpHqTO
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) September 22, 2019
It was quickly blasted on Twitter, and the newspaper released a statement apologizing:
Although the connection between the headline and the foundation was unintentional, there is no excuse for such poor wording and we have reached out to the family and university to express our regrets.
— The State Newspaper (@thestate) September 22, 2019
The State offered an explanation for why the headline wasn’t caught by someone familiar with the Hilinskis’ organization:
The print editions of our company’s newspapers in both South Carolina and North Carolina are put together by copy editors based in Charlotte. They handle duties such as trimming stories to available space, editing photo captions and rewording long headlines /2
— The State Newspaper (@thestate) September 22, 2019
Again, we offer this only as an explanation for transparency’s sake. There’s still no excuse for what happened here, and we are deeply sorry. /4
— The State Newspaper (@thestate) September 22, 2019
South Carolina fans are not happy with the newspaper for that tasteless headline. Regardless of how it appeared, it did appear.
