Sports
Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk reveals he has Parkinson's disease and says 'I want to help as many people as I can'
The Southern University coach and former Rams MVP says medication keeps his symptoms mild. He feels clear of thought and plans to keep living his life.
Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
Faulk, 53, shared the news on the podcast "The Caring Neurologist" with Dr. Sandeep Thakkar this week. He said that by talking about it, "I want to help as many people as I can."
Faulk is in his first season as head coach at Southern University in Baton Rouge. The Jaguars are 3-4.
How he found out
Faulk said he gets a physical twice a year. He started to notice stiffness in his hands after rounds of golf.
"I just thought it was normal nerves when putting and stuff like that," he said. Then the stiffness started showing up even when he was just playing casually. "I was like, 'Wow, is that something -- is that normal?' And the doctor was -- he literally was like, 'You need to go get checked.'"
He has been living with the disease for about a year and a half. With medication, he said, his only symptoms are the rigidity in his hands and "little tremors." He does not believe the stiffness has gotten worse. He said he has had no cognitive decline and feels "clear of thought."
'It's something you live with'
Faulk said he never saw the diagnosis as the end of anything. He remembered a dinner with Muhammad Ali, who also had Parkinson's. He walked away convinced that "he's all there."
"So, knowing that, I didn't look at it like if I got a diagnosis, life was going to end," Faulk said. He compared it to the many surgeries on his right knee and his sore back. "It's something you live with. It's not to where it's a detriment to your livelihood. Now, if you don't take care of it, there's an opportunity for that to be. But you have to take care of it."
He also pointed to actor Michael J. Fox, who has managed Parkinson's for decades.
A legendary career
Faulk was a two-time All-American at San Diego State. He spent more than 10 NFL seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and the St. Louis Rams. With the Rams he won a Super Bowl and was named the league's Most Valuable Player.
He retired in 2007 after major knee surgery and was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011, his first year of eligibility. Before taking the Southern job last November, he was an assistant on Deion Sanders' staff at Colorado.
