JokersUpdates.com: The Score - Former NFL Star Chris Johnson Reveals ALS Diagnosis at 39, Uses a Computer to Speak….

Former NFL running back Chris Johnson is revealing heartbreaking health news.

The former Tennessee Titans star, 40, said on Good Morning America that he has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the progressive neurogenerative disorder for which there is no cure.

“I want people to know that I'm still me,” Chris told Michael Strahan in a pre-taped interview that aired June 29. “ALS has changed what my body can do, but it hasn't changed who I am.”

Chris, one of the fastest running backs in NFL history who was nicknamed “CJ2K,” was diagnosed with ALS 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 wife Brittany.

“At first it was little things like my grip didn't feel right, and I wasn't as strong as I'd always been," he recalled.

Brittany initially suspected the symptoms were related to the wear and tear of his time in the NFL. “I thought because of football and his career that it has to be something with that,” she said. “Maybe a pinched nerve or something along those lines, but never ALS.”

Still, in the year since Chris' diagnosis, the disease has progressed so rapidly that he now uses a speech-generating device controlled by his eyes to communicate. Before he lost his ability to speak, doctors recorded his voice, allowing the device to sound like him.

“It's continued to progress much faster than I ever imagined,” he said. “I want people to understand just how quickly ALS can attack your body. 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.”

Though there is currently no cure for ALS, Chris said ongoing research and clinical trials give him hope.

“Seeing how hard these doctors and researchers are working gives me hope," Chris said. "As long as they're fighting for people with ALS, I'm going to keep fighting too.”

https://people.com/nfl-star-chris-johnson-diagnosed-with-als-at-39-uses-a-computer-to-speak-12008314