Green Bay Packers legendary quarterback Brett Favre has, in recent months, become a big advocate for the treatment of Parkinson’s Disease. The Pro Football Hall of Famer himself was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, and believes that the head injuries that he sustained during his NFL career, in part, led to the disease.
Indeed, professional football is a violent and dangerous sport. Too often, there are stories of former players dealing with any number of physical and/or mental disabilities that can directly be tied back to the nature of their careers in the NFL.
Today, former Pro Bowl running back Chris Johnson shared his own horrible diagnosis, drawing a reaction from Packers great David Bakhtiari.
Green Bay Packers legend David Bakhtiari sends encouragement to Chris Johnson
Johnson, who rushed for 2,006 yards in 2009 (his second year in the NFL), went on “Good Morning America” today to reveal that he has been diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
“There’s no history of ALS in my family,” said Johnson, who was using a speech-generating device based on recordings of his voice to speak (via ESPN.) “My doctors believe my case is what’s called sporadic ALS, which is actually how the vast majority of ALS cases happen.
“… That’s one of the reasons this disease can be so shocking. It can happen to someone who never expected it.”
Johnson said that, at the time of his diagnosis, doctors said they could maybe extend his life by a few months, but otherwise it was a death sentence.
The three-time Pro Bowler, though, is choosing to fight, which led Bakhtiari to post the following:
Prayers for @ChrisJohnson28. We all knew you are fast. We now know you are even stronger. ✊🏼
— David Bakhtiari (@DavidBakhtiari) June 29, 2026
Current Packers wide receiver also added:
Man this Chris Johnson situation just put everything into perspective. Be grateful and be gracious, thank God. Prayers to him and his family 🙏🏾
— j.reed11💂🏾 (@JaydenReed5) June 29, 2026
This is an extremely sad situation. Hopefully Johnson can make some strides in his dealings with the disease. Only 10% of ALS cases are hereditary, with the other 90% being sporadic. There is not enough research to suggest that it is related to his NFL career, but it will be interesting to see if more analysis is done to see if professional football could tie into it.
For More Great Wisconsin Sports Content
Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19 and follow us @WiSportsHeroics for more great content. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in Wisconsin sports, click here!