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Family says years of mental health struggles preceded Georgia State cafeteria assault arrest
Relatives of Carnell Hopson say they have been trying to manage his mental health challenges for about eight years and worry repeated football-related head impacts may have contributed. Hopson is charged in an attack on a Georgia State dining hall worker, who is expected to recover.
ATLANTA — The family of Carnell Hopson says it has spent years seeking care for his serious mental health challenges and is concerned that repeated head impacts during his college football career may have contributed to changes in his behavior. The statement comes after Hopson was arrested in connection with an attack on a Georgia State University dining hall employee.
The incident occurred around 3 a.m. Wednesday in the university’s 24-hour dining hall. Police said an employee let Hopson inside, then another worker confronted him. The encounter became violent, and students intervened to help the employee. Hopson faces multiple charges, including aggravated assault. Police said the injured worker is expected to make a full recovery.
In a public statement, Hopson’s family described the incident as part of a cycle of mental health episodes they have been trying to address for about eight years. They said they first noticed significant changes while he was playing football at Georgia State. Hopson joined the team as a defensive lineman in 2013 and played for four years, according to the family.
Relatives said they worry that repeated head impacts may have affected his behavior, judgment and emotional regulation. They raised the possibility of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a disease associated with repeated head impacts. The family acknowledged that CTE cannot currently be definitively diagnosed during a person’s life; its statement does not establish that Hopson has the disease.
The family said it has spent thousands of dollars on medical care, counseling, medication, housing and other support, while struggling to coordinate consistent treatment among hospitals, doctors, counselors, crisis services and law enforcement. “The reality is that Georgia has extremely limited resources for someone with the magnitude and complexity of Carnell’s condition,” the family wrote.
Relatives said they have hired an attorney to help pursue medical guardianship and other legal options that could allow designated family members to assist with Hopson’s care. They also said Hopson told them he had registered to return to Georgia State this year to pursue another degree and received a student refund.
“Carnell is more than a viral video. He is more than an arrest,” the family wrote, urging people to see him as more than the circumstances of the case.