Hipple has devoted tons of time and resources to veteran’s causes in his retirement
Former Detroit Lions starting quarterback Eric Hipple is this year’s nominee from the team for the annual Salute to Service Award. The nominations, fittingly released on Veteran’s Day, are sponsored by USAA.
Hipple has overcome a lot of personal issues since his playing days, and he’s turned his own struggles into being a beacon of light and action for several veteran’s causes.
From the press release announcing Hipple’s candidacy,
Eric’s interest in supporting active military and veterans initially began after losing his son to suicide, which led him down a dark path. After finding clarity and purpose, Eric began his military outreach to help those that may have had similar transitions. With resilience as the focus, his first step in military engagement was serving as the keynote speaker of the 2009 Dept of Defense Suicide Prevention Conference in San Antonio. Since then, his work has focused on improving the mental fitness of active military and veterans in hope that they will have an improved quality of life. Workshops followed with the US Fleet Forces and visiting bases in Europe, Middle East, South Pacific and US. In partnership with The Department of Defense, Eric introduced the ‘Real Warrior Campaign’ to former players and veterans. In coordination with the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), Eric recruited former players to military bases to help build the morale of service members. Transition from the military also became a focal point and working with The Eisenhower Center’s “After the Impact Program”, has allowed Eric to assist in creating a safe place where legends and veterans could be treated for behavioral symptoms together. Eric also conducts many trainings and workshops to ensure that veterans are properly educated on resources and benefits. Eric is currently collaborating with VETLIFE, a veteran owned nonprofit to build a peer to peer outreach program.
Hipple is one of 32 nominees, one from each team. Good luck to Hipple, and thanks to all veterans out there for serving.
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