A year ago, former NFL player Chris Johnson could scoop up his kids. Now, speaking through a device, he’s revealing the heartbreaking reason why he can’t anymore.
The 40-year-old former Tennessee Titans running back shared during a sit-down on “Good Morning America” with Michael Strahan that aired Monday, June 29, that he has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with no cure.
When asked why he was choosing now to open up about the disease, he said, “If sharing my story helps one person get diagnosed sooner or inspires more research, or gives another family hope, then it’s worth it.”
Johnson, who appeared alongside his wife, Brittany, received the diagnosis in 2025 at age 39 after first noticing weakness in his right hand. At the time, he was in the prime of his life, exercising daily and spending time with the four children he shares with his wife. But the disease progressed so rapidly that he now communicates using a speech-generating device controlled by his eyes.
“I want people to understand just how quickly ALS can attack your body,” he told Strahan. “Just over a year ago I was picking up my 7-year-old daughter so she could make a wish with her birthday cake. Today, I couldn’t do that.”
Looking back on the moment he received the diagnosis after three separate rounds of testing, Johnson recalled, “They told us about a medication that might extend life by a few months. Then they told us to get our affairs in order.”
“It was hard hearing that,” he added.
ALS is a nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, according to the Mayo Clinic. The disease causes muscle weakness and symptoms that worsen over time, gradually robbing people of their ability to move, speak, swallow and eventually breathe.
Johnson’s doctors determined he has sporadic ALS, the most common form of the disease, accounting for about 90% of cases. It develops in people with no known family history.
“That’s one of the reasons this disease can be so shocking — it can happen to someone who never expected it,” he explained.
The former running back is now working with Dr. Merritt Cudkowicz, a neurologist at Mass General Brigham Neuroscience Institute who also treated actor Eric Dane before his death from ALS earlier this year. His treatment has included three standard ALS medications each month, and he has participated in a clinical trial focused on reducing inflammation. Before he lost the ability to speak, doctors recorded his voice so his speech-generating device would sound like him. While there is no cure, the former athlete said ongoing research continues to give him hope.
“As long as they’re fighting for people with ALS, I’m going to keep fighting too,” he declared.
Even as the disease has changed his physical abilities, Johnson says he’s still plenty savvy.
“My mind stays sharp,” he shared. “People sometimes look at the physical disability and assume you’re not the same person. I still think the same. I still dream. I still love my family. My body just doesn’t cooperate.”
For Brittany, the diagnosis has been a lot to embrace.
“All I could think about was our kids and how young they are,” she said, adding, “You’re in denial. You want it to be anything else. You want the doctors to be wrong.”
She also reflected on stepping into the role of caregiver.
“It’s tough,” she admitted.
“We have good days, we have bad days,” she continued. “Our life has shifted so much and it’s a heavy workload, but I have no doubt that this is what I was called to do.”
Johnson, who hails from Orlando, Florida, where he currently resides, spent 10 seasons in the NFL after the Tennessee Titans selected him in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Nicknamed “CJ2K” after becoming just the sixth player in league history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a single season in 2009, he married Brittany in 2014.
“I want people to know that I’m still me,” he noted. “ALS has changed what my body can do, but it hasn’t changed who I am.”
