Michael Strahan welcomed former NFL star Chris Johnson, to Good Morning America yesterday morning for an important announcement about his health. Johnson, who played for the Tennessee Titans, New York Jets, and Arizona Cardinals for a total of 10 seasons, revealed that he’s been diagnosed with ALS, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
The disease is deadly, and unfortunately there is a correlation between playing football and being diagnosed with ALS. However, Michael Strahan, a former NFL player himself, didn’t bring up this link once during their coverage, and social media is not happy about it. Keep reading for more information.
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Michael Strahan Ignores Link Between ALS And Professional Football On GMA
During his interview, Johnson, who’s become an advocate for ALS awareness since receiving his diagnosis last year, revealed that he was just 39 years old when he started seeing the warning signs. “It's continued to progress much faster than I ever imagined. I want people to understand just how quickly ALS can attack your body,” he said.
“Just over a year ago, I was picking up my 7-year-old daughter so she'd make a wish with her birthday cake,” he continued. “Today, I couldn't do that.”
“There's no history of ALS in my family,” Johnson, who had to use a special device to speak, told Strahan. “My doctors believe my case is what's called sporadic ALS, which is actually how the vast majority of ALS cases happen.”
Despite the known correlation between ALS and professional football, Michael Strahan didn’t bring up the potential cause of Johnson’s diagnosis once. Former Sports Illustrated writer and author Jeff Pealman was quick to call him out. “We know by now through studies that there is a correlation between playing football and ALS,” he said in response to the GMA segment.
“A much higher percentage of people who play football, specifically in the NFL, wind up with ALS than the general population. It is a known thing. The number of times Michael Strahan, a former football player, asks Chris Johnson about this? Zero. The number of times Good Morning America brings this up? Zero. It is so irresponsible and grotesque.”
“Michael Strahan, who's paid by the NFL, Michael Strahan who makes his money commenting on NFL games, doesn't bring it up,” he continued. “He knows the tie between football and ALS. He He has seen fellow players suffer from ALS because they played football. And you are so soulless, and you are so corporately owned that you will not bring it up.”
“Chris Johnson is dying and he showed up on Good Morning America to tell his story, and Michael Strahan, one of the great cowards on TV in my opinion, sits there and pretends, oh, this is heartbreaking, it's so sad, I can't believe this is happening to you, and doesn't have the courage and the decency and the wherewithal to mention the ties between football and ALS,” Pearlman finished. “And that’s because he’s getting paid money not to. It’s disgusting.”
