Former NFL star Chris Johnson reveals ALS diagnosis at 39 [View all]

Source: ABC News

GMA * Culture
Former NFL star Chris Johnson reveals ALS diagnosis at 39

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Former NFL star reveals ALS diagnosis at age 39
ABC News

By Randi Simon, Erin Brady, and Katie Kindelan
June 29, 2026, 8:17 AM

Former NFL star and three-time Pro Bowl running back Chris Johnson revealed he has been diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Johnson said in an interview with "Good Morning America" co-anchor Michael Strahan that he was diagnosed with the disease last year, at age 39.

"There's no history of ALS in my family," Johnson said in the interview that aired Monday on "GMA." "My doctors believe my case is what's called sporadic ALS, which is actually how the vast majority of ALS cases happen." ... He continued, "That's one of the reasons this disease can be so shocking. It can happen to someone who never expected it."

Johnson, who was selected in the first round of the 2008 NFL draft by the Tennessee Titans, said he was in the prime of his life last year, working out daily and spending time with his wife and four children, when he noticed the first symptom of what he later learned was ALS.

"I first noticed weakness in my right hand," he said. "At first, it was little things like my grip didn't feel right and I wasn't as strong as I've always been."

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Read more: https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/former-nfl-star-chris-johnson-reveals-als-diagnosis/story?id=134255671