Pro Football Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk has revealed that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, disclosing the news on The Caring Neurologist podcast this week. The 53-year-old former NFL MVP, now the head coach at Southern University, said he hopes speaking openly will help others catch the disease early.
Marshall Faulk (Credits: ESPN)
Marshall Faulk Parkinson’s Diagnosis: How He First Noticed the Symptoms
Faulk told host Dr. Sandeep Thakkar that the first warning sign came on the golf course — a rigidity in his hand after playing. He initially brushed it off as normal nerves when putting. But when the stiffness started showing up even when he wasn’t in a match, he raised it at one of the two physicals he gets each year.
“I get a physical twice a year,” Faulk said. “I noticed the rigidity in my hand after I play a lot or practice a lot. I was like, ‘Wow, is that something? Is that normal?’ And the doctor was like, ‘You need to go get checked.'” Tests followed, and the diagnosis was confirmed. He has now been living with and managing the disease for roughly 18 months.
Faulk’s Message: Early Detection Matters
Faulk says medication has kept his symptoms manageable — he deals with lingering hand rigidity and small tremors, monitors his gait and balance, and sleeps a bit more — but insists his daily life has stayed normal. “I don’t look at it as something that’s terminal,” he said. “It’s like, ‘Hey, you get to live with this.’ There’s far worse things out there.”
In a written statement, Faulk urged fellow former players and athletes everywhere to take their health seriously: “Early evaluation, an accurate diagnosis and appropriate medical care can make a meaningful difference in managing Parkinson’s disease.” He said he recalled a dinner with Muhammad Ali, who also had Parkinson’s, and came away thinking “he’s all there” — a memory that shaped his outlook.
Faulk, a former Super Bowl champion and the 2000 NFL MVP with the St. Louis Rams, took the Southern head coaching job last November and has the Jaguars at 3-4 this season. He is in the first year of the role after serving as an assistant under Deion Sanders at Colorado.
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Source: ESPN — read the full story there.
