{"id":249121,"date":"2026-06-29T17:15:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T17:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/29\/chris-johnson-reveals-shocking-als-diagnosis\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T17:15:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T17:15:12","slug":"chris-johnson-reveals-shocking-als-diagnosis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/29\/chris-johnson-reveals-shocking-als-diagnosis\/","title":{"rendered":"Chris Johnson Reveals &#8216;Shocking&#8217; ALS Diagnosis"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 2<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Running back Chris Johnson is an NFL legend.<\/p>\n<p>Now, he is fighting for his like.<\/p>\n<p>Monday morning, the retired professional athlete went on <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehollywoodgossip.com\/2026\/04\/janai-norman-abruptly-leaving-good-morning-america\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GMA<\/a><\/em> and disclosed his ALS diagnosis.<\/p>\n<p>Doctors told him that medication may prolong his life by months, not years. But he\u2019s not giving up.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><noscript><\/noscript><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0629_chrisjohnson_header-1024x576.png\" alt=\"Chris Johnson on Good Morning America, telling GMA viewers about his ALS.\" class=\"wp-image-558012 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0629_chrisjohnson_header-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0629_chrisjohnson_header-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0629_chrisjohnson_header-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0629_chrisjohnson_header-728x410.png 728w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0629_chrisjohnson_header-960x540.png 960w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0629_chrisjohnson_header-1080x608.png 1080w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0629_chrisjohnson_header-1200x675.png 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0629_chrisjohnson_header.png 1482w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0629_chrisjohnson_header.png\" loading=\"lazy\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">On \u2018Good Morning America\u2019 on June 29, 2026, NFL legend Chris Johnson disclosed his ALS diagnosis.<span class=\"image-caption-credit\"> (Image Credit: ABC)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-amyotrophic-lateral-sclerosis-als-is-a-terminal-neurodegenerative-disease\">Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a terminal neurodegenerative disease<\/h2>\n<p>Appearing on <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=K4d9vQr8L_g\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Good Morning America<\/a><\/em> on Monday, June 29, Johnson informed ABC viewers that he has been diagnosed with ALS.<\/p>\n<p>Doctors told him that he has the ailment, also known as Lou Gehrig\u2019s disease, in 2025. He was only 39 years old.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s no history of ALS in my family,\u201d he shared, using a text-to-speech device to communicate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy doctors believe my case is what\u2019s called sporadic ALS,\u201d he revealed.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson elaborated: \u201cWhich is actually how the vast majority of ALS cases happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Former NFL star reveals ALS diagnosis at age 39\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/K4d9vQr8L_g?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s one of the reasons this disease can be so shocking,\u201d Johnson expressed.<\/p>\n<p>He added: \u201cIt can happen to someone who never expected it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Johnson went on to share how he discovered his earliest symptoms \u2014 symptoms that, given his extraordinary career, he never expected.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI first noticed weakness in my right hand,\u201d he recalled. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt first, it was little things like my grip didn\u2019t feel right,\u201d Johnson elaborated, \u201cand I wasn\u2019t as strong as I\u2019ve always been.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Z_U-C_vEOD\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"\/>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-als-has-not-been-conclusively-linked-to-physical-activity-or-injury\">ALS has not been conclusively linked to physical activity or injury<\/h2>\n<p>At first, Johnson shared, wife Brittany Johnson suspected that his years as a football player were the culprit.<\/p>\n<p>We all know that many ailments result from the rough lives as a professional athlete, particularly traumatic brain injuries. Symptoms can creep up on people.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought because of football and, you know, his career, that it had to be something with that,\u201d Brittany admitted to Michael Strahan.<\/p>\n<p>She continued: \u201cMaybe \u2026 a pinched nerve or something along those lines, but never ALS.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A pinched nerve likely has a solution. ALS has only treatment to slow the progression of symptoms, but not to stop them. Johnson will fight, but the prognosis is that he will likely die within years (at most), not decades.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DMfsLWRMR-B\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"\/>\n<p>Johnson told <em>GMA <\/em>viewers that the ALS diagnosis was nothing short of jarring.<\/p>\n<p>The doctor who diagnosed him advised him that medication may prolong his life by a measure of months.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson was then advised to \u201cget our affairs in order\u201d before she becomes a widow and a single parent to their four children.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHonestly, I don\u2019t know if you ever fully process it,\u201d he admitted. \u201cAt first, you\u2019re in shock.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Johnson affirmed: \u201cThen you realize you have two choices. You can give up, or you can fight. I chose to fight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We wish him and his family the best of luck.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async defer src=\"https:\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehollywoodgossip.com\/2026\/06\/chris-johnson-titans-legend-als-diagnosis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reading Time: 2 minutes Running back Chris Johnson is an NFL legend. Now, he is fighting for his like. Monday morning, the retired professional athlete went on GMA and disclosed his ALS diagnosis. Doctors told him that medication may prolong his life by months, not years. But he\u2019s not giving up. On \u2018Good Morning America\u2019 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":249123,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-249121","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hollywood"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249121"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249121\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}