Yale Runner Hale Ross Dies

CycloneAlum wrote:

Sad to see another wrote:http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2016/10/31/community-mourns-hale-ross-18/

Likely a suicide. So sad to see another athlete pass like this.

Did you read the article? What does "no foul play" mean to you?

When the cause of death is hushed up its usually drug overdose or suicide in my experience

CycloneAlum wrote:

Did you read the article? What does "no foul play" mean to you?

That could mean suicide. That's what the police and college officials said when a college runner committed suicide here several years ago.

I think as a society we need to get over the avoidance of suicide talk.

The Yale Daile News article states that there "is no indication of an accident or foul play." That seems to imply suicide but I guess it could be natural causes (extremely unlikely as he just ran an xc race and how would they know that without an autopsy, if a healty 20-year old is dead I'd assume he might have been poisoned) or a drug overdose. But wouldn't a OD be an 'accident.'

"no foul play" means the person was not killed by others. speculating about cause of death is unhealthy and talking about the type of death identified by some here in this thread does actually increase it, as studies have shown.

my condolences to the family and teammates.

jjjjjj wrote:

"no foul play" means the person was not killed by others. speculating about cause of death is unhealthy and talking about the type of death identified by some here in this thread does actually increase it, as studies have shown.

my condolences to the family and teammates.

Actually increases what?

bigtool05 wrote:

jjjjjj wrote:

"no foul play" means the person was not killed by others. speculating about cause of death is unhealthy and talking about the type of death identified by some here in this thread does actually increase it, as studies have shown.

my condolences to the family and teammates.

Actually increases what?

Death man what else? Careful not to say much more about it cause your risks have increased a lot already

Today, the road all runners come,

Shoulder-high we bring you home,

And set you at your threshold down,

Townsman of a stiller town.

Excerpt from the cliché, but deservedly classic, "To an Athlete Dying Young" by A.E. Housman.

I found the above stanza to be the most appropriate in this case.

Thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

Ran my first xc race against (a ways behind) him in his xc debut as-well. He won that race despite 100 degree heat on a brutal 3.3 mile course. Showed how tough he was for sure.

A life and career cut too short. RIP

Hate to read of suicide. It's a permanent mistake to one's temporary problems. The wound it leaves with family and friends is almost inconsolable and unhealable.

Sad to see another wrote:

http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2016/10/31/community-mourns-hale-ross-18/

Likely a suicide. So sad to see another athlete pass like this.

As a former Yale runner myself, this news hit harder than most even though I didn't know Hale.

The world lost a really smart, talented athletic young man, who more importantly was a friend, a teammate, a son and a brother, at way too young an age.

My thoughts and prayers are with Hale's family and his teammates at Yale.

I don't know the cause of death and didn't even want it to be discussed on here, but now think that is the wrong course to take. If Hale had lost a long battle with cancer then people would just be talking about all the great things in his life and what a tragedy it is. However, when the cause of death is not mentioned it does not make it even less a tragedy. If it is a suicide, it still tremendously tragic. And by not discussing it, are we making the situation worse for more kids in the future?

What if we actively discussed the cause of death (Whatever it is) and encouraged others to seek help?

I'm going to sleep but feel free to email me @

if I'm way off base of this. I don't want this thread to devolved into a suicide discussion so please email me. I don't really know what to say but am searching for the right way to handle this.

The YDN article has been updated and the link changed:

http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2016/11/01/community-mourns-hale-ross-18/

Likely a suicide. So sad to see another athlete pass like this.

I know as a student-athlete the pressure is immense, and I believe that many people do not understand that student-athletes can also be depressed. In many schools there is not an avenue for SAs to speak to a counselor that truly understand what they are going through. As SAs we are generally held to a higher standard and that often means that we must "be strong" and show no weakness (this "weakness" being depression). With yet another young athlete gone too soon in what appears to be suicide I hope that this will bring to light the struggles that we face every day, and open more opportunities for SAs to get help when they need it most.

I'm in the same boat as Weldon. As a former Yale runner, this hits hard. My heart goes out to his teammates, his family, his friends and the Yale community. I guess I imagine my own experience coming home from Heps, and celebrating with my teammates on competing against our conference peers - and of course getting mentally ready for the regional meet. To have the "normalcy" of returning to campus with such a tragedy must be jarring for everyone. The death of 20-year old athlete is always a tragedy - no matter the circumstances. The xYc and tYf alumni mourn with all those who knew Hale. So sad.

ydn reader wrote:

I think as a society we need to get over the avoidance of suicide talk.

You don't realize they hush up suicides because, oddly enough, suicide is contagious.

Perhaps it was natural causes.

You assume suicide and now you talk about it. Why? It's none of our business how he died. Respect his name and family during this difficult time.

Obituary is out.

http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Hale-Ross&lc=2216&pid=182229856&mid=7147275

Says he died "suddenly and unexpectedly."

Run Doctor - I agree that the family and community needs some space and virtual privacy to grieve.

But let's not underestimate the pressures and stress that young people competing at the highest levels of academia and athletics endure. It is real, and it can alter the perspective and thinking of healthy, ambitious people.

In the long run, it is not helpful to avoid the issue (if it turns out that suicide did occur).

I went to a school of like academic quality (close enough) on athletic scholarship years ago. I was from a single mother background, very poor, which actually helped me because I had coping skills (i.e., the ability to be absolutely miserable and survive and be a relative social outcast as well) that the upper middle class kids often did not have. But make no mistake, nothing in my life, not even close, was as severe in terms of stress and pressure as my undergraduate experience. I did not know it at the time, and certainly could have used some adult perspective, finding out only later how much real stress and pressure I was under. I went to one of the top rated graduate schools, and performed at a level I could not have imagined, because, well, graduate school was easy, because all I had to do was study and somehow get three meals a day, and athletics at that point looked relatively trivial when seen in the rear view mirror. Throw in the typical late teen/early 20 social pressures, and heck, I don't think we put enough focus on just how vulnerable so many young people are - not weak, not fragile, not untalented, but vulnerable. And Yale (and my school) don't attract people from the ether - they are mostly Type A personalities, inclined to be tough on themselves, or they wouldn't be there. I have no qualms in saying that while I did indeed survive, my undergraduate days were very difficult and dark. I think what kept me together was the academic component - I was a poor kid and saw a wonderful world open up to me that never would have happened if not for the athletic scholarship - and really did understand just how privileged I was to sit in those classes. Again, it was an advantage coming from absolutely nothing, But let's get real about the problem. Didn't Penn lose a young runner a while ago? What a loss, leaving everyone around them thinking they could have done something. (In my case, someone did do something - a nurse treating me for a minor illness showed me caring beyond belief and really insisted I look out for myself - you never know how the people you touch can make a difference)