Chris Johnson, one of nine players in NFL history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season who made the Pro Bowl in each of his first three years with the Tennessee Titans, revealed in a television interview aired Monday that he has ALS.
Johnson, 40, spent 10 seasons in the league and last played in 2017 for the Arizona Cardinals. He said on ABC's “ Good Morning America ” that he was diagnosed with the fatal nervous system disease last year.
“Honestly, I don’t know if you really fully process it,” he said, using his eyes to communicate through a computerized speech-generating device during the interview with Michael Strahan. “At first you’re in shock. Then you realize you have two choices: You can give up or you can fight. I chose to fight.”
Johnson, a first-round draft pick out of East Carolina in 2008, rushed for 7,965 yards over six seasons with the Titans. The native of Orlando, Florida, had 2,006 yards in 2009 to earn the nickname “CJ2K” and ingratiate himself with the Tennessee fan base.
Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk, in a statement released Monday, said the organization is holding Johnson, his wife and four children close.
“Some people leave a mark on an organization that you just can’t put into words. Chris Johnson is one of those people for us. 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," Adams Strunk said. “Learning this news is extremely difficult, and we will support Chris every step of the way throughout his journey."
ALS, which is an acronym for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and is commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a neurodegenerative condition that affects nerve cell communication with muscles throughout the body. The disease leads to muscle weakness and can cause deterioration of the ability to move, speak and breathe.
Tim Shaw, who had a six-year career as a linebacker in the NFL and was a teammate of Johnson's with the Titans from 2010-12, was diagnosed in 2014 at age 30 with ALS and is still alive.
Johnson, who also played one season for the New York Jets, first noticed weakness in his right hand and trouble with his grip. He was still working out daily a year ago. Now he can't hold a cup or speak on his own.
“Your mind stays sharp. People sometimes look at a person with a physical disability and assume you’re not still the same person inside,” Johnson said. “I still think the same. I still dream. I still love my family. My body just doesn’t cooperate.”
Johnson was joined for the interview by his wife, Brittany, who has become his primary caregiver.
“She hasn’t left my side through any of this. My kids are also a huge part of why I keep going,” Johnson said. “Every day I wake up wanting more time with them to make more memories and just be their dad. They give me a reason to keep fighting.”
Johnson has been participating in experimental treatments with the goal of extending his life and helping the medical field move closer to a cure for the disease.
“If it helps even one person get diagnosed sooner, inspires more research or gives another family hope,” he said, “then it's worth it.”
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FILE - Former Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson visits the field during the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Sept. 15, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, file)
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are rising Monday and recovering some of their losses from a rare losing week.
The S&P 500 climbed 1.1% after erasing a midmorning stumble and was on track to break a five-day losing streak. It’s coming off just its second losing week in the last 13. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 366 points, or 0.7%, as of 3:07 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 2% higher.
Comcast helped lead the way and jumped 6.7% after saying it will split off its NBCUniversal media business and Sky from its broadband and wireless business. Its stock came into the day with a loss of 17.3% for the year so far.
Several stocks boosted by the artificial-intelligence boom also rose after Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix said they will invest roughly $518 billion in a new chipmaking hub in South Korea, as its president hopes to capitalize on surging AI demand.
Applied Materials, whose equipment helps make semiconductors, rallied 11.5% to bring its gain for the year so far to roughly 172%.
AI stocks have been on a roller-coaster ride recently after soaring to tremendous heights. They’re under pressure because of worries that their profits can’t possibly keep pace with the huge gains for their stock prices. And the drops have an outsized effect on investors because AI stocks have become some of Wall Street’s largest and most influential, giving them more weight on indexes than others.
SpaceX, which owns the xAI business along with rockets, has already become worth more than $2 trillion after its stock made its debut on the Nasdaq earlier this month, with sharp rises and falls along the way. It’s become big enough that Nasdaq said Elon Musk’s company will join the Nasdaq 100 index before trading begins on July 7, which will force funds tracking the index to buy the stock.
SpaceX climbed 6.8%.
That helped offset a 5.4% drop for Verizon Communications, which said it's paying $625 million as part of a deal to combine its international wireline connectivity and managed network services business with some of London-based BT Group's subsidiaries in a joint venture.
The gains for the stock market came even though oil prices rose. The September delivery price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, climbed 1.8% to $73.91, pulling slightly above where it was before the war with Iran began. Benchmark U.S. crude for August delivery rose 2.2% to settle at $70.75 per barrel.
Following attacks across the Persian Gulf over the weekend, President Donald Trump said Monday on social media that Iran had requested a meeting with U.S. counterparts, though one of Iran’s top negotiators said no further talks had been scheduled.
The hope is that an end to the war with Iran will give oil tankers full access again to the Strait of Hormuz, allowing them to exit the Persian Gulf and deliver crude to customers worldwide. That would help lower the price of oil, whose jumps because of the war have sent a punishing wave of inflation around the world.
If oil prices do recede and stay low enough, it could keep enough pressure off inflation to allow the Federal Reserve and other central banks to keep interest rates steady or even cut them instead of hiking them. Higher interest rates can keep a lid on inflation, but they also slow the economy and hurt prices for all kinds of investments. High yields worldwide have been rattling investors since oil prices burst above $100 per barrel.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury held steady at 4.38% late Friday and from 4.56% early this month.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed across Europe and Asia.
Stocks jumped 1.6% in Hong Kong and 1.2% in Shanghai for two of the world’s biggest gains, while South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.2%.
AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed to this report.
Specialist Philip Finale works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Ravi Bhandari, left, works with fellow options traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Media cover near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A dealer stands near the screen showing the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A member of media looks at the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A huge screen shows the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
