Former East Carolina football star Chris Johnson disclosed his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis during a Monday interview on Good Morning America. The ex-Tennessee Titans running back received the diagnosis in 2025 at 39 after he spotted weakness in his right hand.
The illness has progressed so fast that Johnson, now 40, relies on a speech-generating device operated by his eyes. Doctors captured his voice before he lost the power to talk, so the device replicates his natural sound.
“I want people to know that I’m still me,” Johnson said to Good Morning America. “ALS has changed what my body can do, but it hasn’t changed who I am.”
Johnson first thought the symptoms stemmed from the wear and tear of professional football. His wife, Brittany Johnson, shared that worry. “I thought because of football and his career that it had to be something with that,” she said. “Maybe a pinched nerve or something along those lines, but never ALS.”
Doctors ran several tests. Then they confirmed what no one wanted to hear and advised the family to prepare. “It was hard hearing that,” the retired player said.
No one in Johnson’s family has had ALS before. Doctors explained he has sporadic ALS, which makes up about 90% of all cases. “That’s one of the reasons this disease can be so shocking,” he said. “It can happen to someone who never expected it.”
ALS destroys nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. People lose muscle control. They can’t move, speak, swallow, or breathe.
“It’s continued to progress much faster than I ever imagined,” Johnson said. “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.”
Johnson played 10 seasons in the NFL. He made three Pro Bowls. Six years with the Titans, one with the New York Jets, and three with the Arizona Cardinals before he hung it up in 2017. He was a star at East Carolina from 2004 to 2007, before becoming a first-round draft pick in 2008.
In 2009, Johnson rushed for 2,006 yards and became the sixth player to crack 2,000 yards in a season. He snagged 50 passes for 503 yards that year, too, which pushed his total to 2,509 yards from scrimmage. That total still stands as an NFL record. The performance brought him Offensive Player of the Year honors and the nickname CJ2K.
He wrapped up his career with 9,651 rushing yards and 55 touchdowns. Johnson sits fourth on the Titans all-time rushing list.
Tennessee owner Amy Adams Strunk put out a statement Monday. “His leadership on the field, in addition to his impact in the locker room and Nashville community have written him permanently into the story of this franchise,” Strunk said, according to People. “We are holding him and his family close.”
Brittany Johnson has taken on the role of primary caregiver for her husband. “She hasn’t left my side through any of this,” he said. “My 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.”