On Monday, Chris Johnson, a former first-round pick of the\u00a0Tennessee Titans and Pro Bowl running back, appeared on Good Morning America to reveal he has been diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n
Johnson, 40, said he was officially diagnosed last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no history of ALS in my family,\u201d Johnson told co-anchor Michael Strahan, using a speech-to-text device triggered by his eye movements. \u201cMy doctors believe my case is what\u2019s called sporadic ALS, which is actually how the vast majority of ALS cases happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
FULL INTERVIEW: Former NFL running back Chris Johnson reveals his ALS diagnosis at 39. pic.twitter.com\/5Pb8YAQ5x0<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Good Morning America (@GMA) June 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The former NFL star who once rushed for over 2,000 yards in a season said the disease has progressed rapidly, and he hopes to help raise awareness and let people know he\u2019s still the same person he was before ALS.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s continued to progress much faster than I ever imagined. I want people to understand just how quickly ALS can attack your body,\u201d he said. \u201cJust over a year ago, I was picking up my 7-year-old daughter so she\u2019d make a wish with her birthday cake. Today, I couldn\u2019t do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Noted sportswriter Jeff Pearlman<\/a> watched the heartbreaking GMA interview and came away frustrated and angry with what he perceives as a lack of conversation in the media around the connection between football and ALS.<\/p>\n @jeffpearlmanauthor<\/a> Former NFL star Chris Johnson has ALS. Media cowards refuse to address ties between the disease and football. Shame. #michaelstrahan<\/a> #chrisjohnson<\/a> #als<\/a> #titans<\/a> #football<\/a> \u266c original sound \u2013 Jeff Pearlman<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe know by now through studies that there is a correlation between playing football and ALS<\/a>. A much higher percentage of people who play football, specifically in the NFL, wind up with ALS than the general population. It is a known thing,\u201d said Pearlman in a TikTok video. \u201cThe number of times Michael Strahan, a former football player, asks Chris Johnson about this? Zero. The number of times Good Morning America brings this up? Zero. It is so f*cking irresponsible and grotesque.<\/p>\n \u201cMichael Strahan, who\u2019s paid by the NFL, Michael Strahan who makes his money commenting on NFL games, doesn\u2019t bring it up. He knows the tie between football and ALS. He He has seen fellow players suffer from ALS because they played football. And you are so f*cking soulless, and you are so corporately owned that you will not bring it up.\u201d<\/p>\n Pearlman then pulls up ESPN\u2019s article on Johnson and starts rattling off what was written in it.<\/p>\n \u201cOkay, ESPN.com article headline: Former NFL running back Chris Johnson discusses ALS diagnosis. All right. Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk releases statement on Johnson\u2019s diagnosis. Noting that the former running back\u2019s leadership on the field, in addition to his impact in the locker room and Nashville community, have written him permanently into the story of this franchise. The Cardinals sent a social media post. They are sending strength, love, and support. The Jets and the NFL Players Association also released messages of support for Johnson.<\/p>\n \u201cThen the article talks about ALS and what it is\u2014 Lou Gehrig\u2019s disease. Not one f*cking mention of the ties between football and ALS And ESPN in bed with the NFL. It is so f*cking gross. \u2018Johnson, who is taking part in a clinical trial as part of his treatment\u2014\u2019 why does he have ALS? Why don\u2019t you interview someone who talks about the ties between NFL and ALS? How about one statistic, one single statistic about, um, studies done on football and the impact on ALS? It is so\u2014 it\u2019s not just irresponsible, it\u2019s grotesque. It is f*cking grotesque.\u201d<\/p>\n Pearlman\u2019s video was posted around 3:00 p.m. on Monday. The ESPN News Services article\u00a0<\/a>he was referring to<\/a> does include a reference to the connection between playing pro football and ALS, though it\u2019s unclear whether it was added later or he simply missed it.<\/p>\n \u201cTim Shaw, who had a six-year career as a linebacker in the NFL and was a teammate of Johnson\u2019s with the Titans from 2010 to 2012, was diagnosed in 2014 at age 30 with ALS and is still alive.<\/p>\n \u201cAccording to scientific research by Boston University\u2019s CTE Center, the results of which were released in 2021, pro football players are four times more likely to develop and die from ALS than the adult male population. At the time, the center said it couldn\u2019t determine exactly why the rate was higher for those athletes but suggested that repetitive head impacts and traumatic brain injuries might play a role.\u201d<\/p>\n Pearlman added that he\u2019s not asking for anyone to stop playing football, simply that he would like to see the precautions shown and shared regularly. And that he sees lost opportunities like this as a sign that certain people have financial incentives not to do so.<\/p>\n \u201cChris Johnson is dying and he showed up on Good Morning America to tell his story, and Michael Strahan, one of the great cowards on TV in my opinion, sits there and pretends, oh, this is heartbreaking, it\u2019s so sad, I can\u2019t believe this is happening to you, and doesn\u2019t have the courage and the decency and the wherewithal to mention the ties between football and ALS,\u201d said Pearlman. \u201cAnd that\u2019s because he\u2019s getting paid a sh*tload of money not to. It\u2019s f*cking disgusting.\u201d<\/p>\n \t