Chris Johnson, the former NFL running back who set the league’s single-season yards from scrimmage record in 2009, has revealed that he was diagnosed with ALS in 2025. Speaking on ABC’s Good Morning America on Monday, the 39-year-old said he is going public with his diagnosis to raise awareness and to push back against the way the disease changes how people see those who have it.
Johnson used a speech-generating device — built from recordings of his own voice — to speak during the interview. “I want people to know that I’m still me,” he said. “ALS has changed what my body can do, but it hasn’t changed who I am. People sometimes look at the physical disability and assume you’re not still the same person inside. I still think the same. I still dream. I still love my family. My body just doesn’t cooperate.”
Johnson told co-anchor Michael Strahan that there is no history of ALS in his family, and that his doctors believe his case is sporadic ALS — the form that accounts for the vast majority of diagnoses, with no clear hereditary cause. “That’s one of the reasons this disease can be so shocking,” he said. “It can happen to someone who never expected it.”
He first noticed something was wrong when his grip weakened. His wife Brittany told Strahan that they initially assumed football-related wear and tear was responsible — a pinched nerve, perhaps. The reality was far more serious, and it has progressed quickly. “Just over a year ago, I was picking up my 7-year-old daughter so she’d make a wish with her birthday cake,” Johnson said. “Today, I couldn’t do that. It’s continued to progress much faster than I ever imagined.”
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A Career That Rewrote the Record Books
Johnson played 10 seasons in the NFL with the Tennessee Titans, the New York Jets, and the Arizona Cardinals. His 2009 season with the Titans remains one of the great individual rushing performances in NFL history — 2,006 rushing yards, earning him the nickname CJ2K, and 2,509 total yards from scrimmage, which broke the league’s all-time single-season record. He was named the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year that season. Six consecutive 1,000-yard seasons launched his career, though injuries later limited his impact in New York and Arizona.
The Titans responded to his announcement with a statement from owner Amy Adams Strunk, who said Johnson’s leadership, locker room presence, and community impact had “written him permanently into the story of this franchise.” The Jets also released a message of support.
The Diagnosis and the Decision to Fight
Johnson is currently participating in a clinical trial as part of his treatment. He described the moment of receiving the diagnosis as something he is still processing. “Honestly, I don’t know if you ever fully process it. At first, you’re in shock. Then you realise you have two choices. You can give up, or you can fight. I chose to fight.”
ALS — amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, widely known as Lou Gehrig’s disease after the baseball legend diagnosed in 1939 — is a progressive disease that attacks the nerve cells controlling muscles throughout the body. There is currently no known cure.
If this article has raised concerns for you or someone you know dealing with an ALS diagnosis, the ALS Association provides resources and support at als.org.
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