Michael Strahan issues blunt response as he addresses backlash from Chris Johnson interview
Michael Strahan has come out to speak about the criticism he has received ever since interviewing former NFL player, Chris Johnson.
The former NFL running back took the moment to speak with Strahan on June 29, and to issue his heartbreaking health news.
The former Tennessee Titans player revealed on Good Morning America that last year, at 39, he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the progressive neurogenerative disorder which has taken the lives of many celebrities and loved ones in the States over the years.
In his conversation, he revealed his hopes, telling Strahan: “I want people to know that I'm still me. ALS has changed what my body can do, but it hasn't changed who I am.”
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But while the conversation was focused on his health, his family, and his prognosis, some were quick to call out the interviewer for one thing.
Strahan has since appeared on The Dan Patrick Show on July 28, where he explained there were some who were unhappy with his questions.
The pair were discussing some of the backlash, when the former athlete shared his thoughts on it.
He said: “Well, I had that — I actually thought about that, because I saw what every[one said], ‘Well you should have asked this, you should have asked that,’ ” the 54-year-old said.
He hit back, stating: “Well, you should have got the interview. How about that? That’s one thing.”
Strahan said the interview was 'Chris’s moment,' and he was simply there to allow Chris to tell his update.
“Two,” Strahan continued. "Two, that was Chris’s moment for Chris to share the story which Chris wanted to share. And when I got the call that Chris wanted to share that he has, you know, ALS, that was the story. It wasn’t for me to try to grandstand, which — I hate when people do this, Dan.”
He added: “As an interviewer, our job is [to] deliver information. I’m not trying to get a bigger name for myself by putting somebody else in an uncomfortable position. I was there as a service to Chris, for what Chris wanted people to understand and know about his life and where he was now. I was not there to make a story about myself or to get a big headline — that’s what it wasn’t about. The headlines were about Chris, where they needed to be.”
“I did ask Chris about football, how the NFL has been supportive and all those things,” Strahan went on to say, which is a subject that has been linked to developing ASL.
According to researchers at Boston University, NFL players exhibited lower mortality and higher neurodegenerative mortality 'including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis', all-cause dementia, and Parkinson's disease.
The researchers explained: " Neurodegenerative mortality was nearly four times higher in NFL players compared to the general population and remained threefold higher after accounting for competing risks.
"Together, these findings strengthen the evidence for RHI exposure-related neurodegenerative mortality in NFL players that cannot be explained by differential survivorship."
As for Strahan's refusal to ask about the study, he said: “He has twin boys who play football right now. So there are so many things that people don’t know but a few were critical of, but overall I’m very proud of what we did there at ABC in bringing that story.”
“Because that was Chris’s story to tell. The headline’s about Chris Johnson, not about Michael Strahan. I don’t make any of these things about myself. And that was the disappointing thing for a few people who were critical of that. But if you don’t have critics that means you’re not doing a good job, too," he concluded.
Britt Jones