Former NFL star Chris Johnson reveals if he thinks football career contributed to ALS diagnosis
Seventeen months ago, at just 39 years old, former NFL running back Chris Johnson was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) - a progressive neurological disease that destroys the nerve cells controlling voluntary muscle movement, eventually leading to paralysis and respiratory failure.
Now 41, Johnson is speaking out about life with the diagnosis, using a speech-generating tablet controlled by his eyes to communicate. And while doctors haven't given him a definitive cause, the former Tennessee Titans star admits his decade in the NFL is never far from the conversation.
"Football has come up throughout this process when we've talked with doctors because I played the game basically my whole life," Johnson told PEOPLE. "That's a big part of my history. My doctors haven't told me that football caused my ALS, and they haven't been able to point to one specific reason why I developed it."
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Johnson, who earned the nickname 'CJ2K' after rushing for 2,006 yards in the 2009 season, spent six seasons with the Titans after they drafted him in 2008.
He was named to three Pro Bowls, took First-team All-Pro honors, and was crowned NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2009.
He went on to play four more seasons with the New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals before retiring in 2018, closing out a career that saw him widely regarded as one of the most explosive running backs the league has ever produced.
What does Chris Johnson think caused his ALS?
Johnson has stopped short of blaming football outright, but he isn't dismissing the possibility either. "When you spend that many years taking hits and putting your body through what we put our bodies through, of course you think about it," he said, adding that he 'can't help but wonder' what toll the sport ultimately took on his body.
He's careful, though, not to overstate a link doctors haven't confirmed. "I don't think it would be right for me to say, 'Football caused my ALS,' because I don't know that, but I also don't think you can ignore the question," Johnson explained.
"I think the possible connection between football, repeated trauma and neurological diseases needs to continue to be studied so players and their families can have better answers."
Does Chris Johnson let his sons play football?
Despite everything he's facing, Johnson isn't standing in the way of his 14-year-old twin sons, CJ and Kaden, who both play football competitively.
"I don't look at what I'm going through and say, 'My kids shouldn't play because of it,'" he said. "But as a father, of course, I think about things differently now. I want them to understand the risks and take care of their bodies. If football's what they love, and that's the path they choose, I'm going to support them. More than anything, I want my kids to be healthy, happy and able to build lives they love."
His wife, Brittany, echoed that balance of support and concern. "[Chris] always just says as long as they enjoy it, he wants them to be able to do what they love. Of course, not at the expense of their bodies," she said. "It is something that I think about, and it's something that I worry about, but they've been so engulfed in it most of their lives that they don't want to stop."
Thomas Bamford