{"id":2621219,"date":"2026-06-29T20:44:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T00:44:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ex-nfl-superstar-chris-johnson-40-diagnosed-with-als-can-no-longer-speak\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T20:45:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T00:45:57","slug":"ex-nfl-superstar-chris-johnson-40-diagnosed-with-als-can-no-longer-speak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ex-nfl-superstar-chris-johnson-40-diagnosed-with-als-can-no-longer-speak\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-NFL Superstar Chris Johnson, 40, Diagnosed with ALS, Can No Longer Speak"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fex-nfl-superstar-chris-johnson-40-diagnosed-with-als-can-no-longer-speak%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2621219&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ice-bucket-challenge-activist-dies-age-37\/\" title=\"Ice Bucket Challenge Activist Dies Age 37\">amyotrophic lateral sclerosis<\/a> (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig\u2019s Disease, emphasizing its devastating effects-robbing individuals of their ability to walk, talk, and breathe. It highlights the story of Chris johnson, a former NFL <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-football-analogy-to-explain-democrats-election-cheating\/\" title=\"A Football Analogy to Explain Democrats&#039; Election Cheating\">running back<\/a> diagnosed with ALS at age 39, describing his rapid disease progression, unexpected diagnosis, and his determination to fight the condition with support from his family.The piece also references ancient figures like Lou Gehrig, who delivered a famous speech after his diagnosis, and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >shares personal anecdotal experiences<\/a> about ALS&#8217;s brutality and brevity. The overall message underscores the urgent need for research and hope for a cure.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_1)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>If you have lost a loved one to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), then you understand its horrors.<\/p>\n<p>More commonly known as Lou Gehrig\u2019s Disease, ALS, in the simple words of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.als.org\/?s_src=paid&#038;utm_source=google&#038;utm_medium=paidsearch&#038;utm_campaign=eg25&#038;utm_content=branded-mon&#038;gad_source=1&#038;gad_campaignid=21420053918&#038;gbraid=0AAAAAqEB6OVhm2zFxIiNYbgaYt_E85C4_&#038;gclid=Cj0KCQjwr4jSBhCSARIsAOX1E-Leesdo6QEAoMdYYFALd1Jqd87Y1_9TGYOmechUQxhdGSwl07kXUZQaAhTeEALw_wcB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ALS Association<\/a>, \u201crobs people of the ability to walk, talk, and eventually breathe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Monday on ABC\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodmorningamerica.com\/culture\/story\/former-nfl-star-chris-johnson-reveals-als-diagnosis-134255671?cid=social_twitter_abcn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Good Morning America<\/a>,\u201d 40-year-old former Tennessee Titans superstar running back Chris Johnson revealed the devastating news that doctors had diagnosed him with the degenerative neurological disease.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson told \u201cGMA\u201d co-host and Pro Football Hall of Famer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/S\/StraMi02.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Michael Strahan<\/a> that the diagnosis came out of nowhere.<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-embed\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Former NFL star reveals ALS diagnosis at age 39\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/K4d9vQr8L_g?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s no history of ALS in my family,\u201d Johnson said. \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<p>\u201cThat\u2019s one of the reasons this disease can be so shocking,\u201d the former running back added. \u201cIt can happen to someone who never expected it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>ALS, which has no known cure, also tends to move rapidly.<\/p>\n<p>\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 Johnson 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<p>In fact, Johnson\u2019s disease has progressed so rapidly that, roughly a year after his diagnosis, he must speak through a speech-generating device.<\/p>\n<p>Symptoms first appeared when the then-39-year-old Johnson worked out regularly and spent time with his wife and four children.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI first noticed weakness in my right hand,\u201d he said. \u201cAt first, it was little things like my grip didn\u2019t feel right, and I wasn\u2019t as strong as I\u2019ve always been.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Worst of all, perhaps, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/greys-anatomy-star-52-diagnosed-incurable-terminal-illness\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ALS<\/a> offers no hope of recovery.<\/p>\n<p>That does not mean, however, that Johnson has given up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHonestly, I don\u2019t know if you ever fully process it,\u201d he said. \u201cAt first, you\u2019re in shock. Then you realize you have two choices. You can give up, or you can fight. I chose to fight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The former running back also credited his wife, Brittany, and their children with giving him a reason to keep going.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe hasn\u2019t left my side through any of this,\u201d he said of his wife. \u201cMy kids are also a huge part of why I keep going. Every day I wake up wanting more time with them to make more memories and just be their dad. They give me a reason to keep fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As a dynamic, second<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/steelers-lions-tie-leaving-some-players-confused\/\" title=\"Steelers, Lions Tie, Leaving Some Players Confused\">-year running back<\/a> in 2009, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/J\/JohnCh04.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Johnson<\/a> led the NFL with 2,006 rushing yards. He earned the nickname \u201cCJ2K\u201d en route to winning the Associated Press\u2019 Offensive Player of the Year Award.<\/p>\n<p>Known for his deceptive strength, balance, and breakaway speed, Johnson regularly busted loose for long touchdown runs.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\u201809 Chris Johnson was legendary \u26a1\ufe0f\u26a1\ufe0f <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/MyvhWmWzgd\">pic.twitter.com\/MyvhWmWzgd<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Football Posts \u2122\ufe0f (@TopFBPosts) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TopFBPosts\/status\/2071585449919811993?\">June 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>On July 4, 1939, first baseman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/g\/gehrilo01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lou Gehrig<\/a> of the New York Yankees, one of the best baseball players in history, delivered an iconic speech at Yankee Stadium in New York, declaring himself \u201cthe luckiest man on the face of the Earth\u201d and then recounting his many blessings even after doctors diagnosed him with the disease that would bear his name.<\/p>\n<p>Gehrig died less than two years later, on June 2, 1941.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Lou Gehrig speech was improvised on the speech \u2013 which makes it even more amazing. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/QHomTdOvbB\">pic.twitter.com\/QHomTdOvbB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 BaseballHistoryNut (@nut_history) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/nut_history\/status\/2003825540739023050?\">December 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>In the spring of 1989, this writer\u2019s 72-year-old grandfather, a World War II veteran, received the same diagnosis. He passed away on Nov. 2 of that same year.<\/p>\n<p>In short, ALS shows no mercy, apart from its relative brevity. We pray, for Johnson\u2019s sake and others, that researchers may swiftly discover or develop a cure.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #171717; display: flex;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;line-height: 1.5;margin: 24px 0;padding: 18px 20px 18px 30px;text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"align-self: stretch;border-left: 3px solid #171717;flex-shrink: 0;padding-left: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<p><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/\">Choose The Western Journal as your preferred source on Google and never miss reporting that defends truth, protects freedom, and advances Western civilization<\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey == typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts = { \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs = [ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i = 0; i < inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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Also called Lou Gehrig\u2019s Disease, ALS, as the ALS Association explains, \u201ctakes away the ability to walk, talk, and eventually breathe.\u201d On ABC\u2019s \u201cGood Morning America,\u201d 40-year-old ex-Tennessee Titans star Chris Johnson shared his heartbreaking diagnosis with viewers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2621220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Chris-Johnson-has-ALS.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[81937,81936,7215,34619],"class_list":["post-2621219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-als","tag-chris-johnson","tag-nfl","tag-sports-news"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Chris-Johnson-has-ALS.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2621219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2621219"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2621219\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2621223,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2621219\/revisions\/2621223"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2621220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2621219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2621219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2621219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}