Hall of Famer and Southern coach Marshall Faulk discloses Parkinson's diagnosis, says medication is working

Marshall Faulk, the Pro Football Hall of Fame running back now coaching at Southern University, has Parkinson's disease.

Faulk, 53, disclosed the diagnosis on the podcast "The Caring Neurologist" with host Dr. Sandeep Thakkar. The episode was released Wednesday, Oct. 21. Faulk said he has been dealing with the disease for about 18 months.

How he found out

It started on the golf course. Faulk noticed rigidity in his hand after playing or practicing a lot. He figured it was nerves while putting.

Then it showed up when he wasn't in a match. "I was like, 'Wow, is that something? Is that normal?'" he said. His doctor told him, "You need to go get checked."

Faulk said he gets a physical twice a year and described himself as "a little anal about my health." He raised the hand issue at one of those visits.

Where things stand

Faulk says the medication is working. "Since I've started on the medication, I don't really have a lot of issues," he said. He may sleep a little more, and the hand rigidity remains, but he says it has not gotten worse.

"The little tremors that I get, they are what they are," Faulk said. He watches his gait, how he walks, his balance and his workouts. "It's still where it is."

He does not see the diagnosis as a death sentence. "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."

His outlook was shaped partly by a dinner with Muhammad Ali, who also had Parkinson's. Faulk left thinking, "He's all there." He compared the diagnosis to the wear from his NFL career, including right-knee surgeries and a back that hurts "every once in a while."

Parkinson's is a progressive disorder of the central nervous system that affects movement and balance. There is no known cure. Faulk's account is his own and relies on his own read of his symptoms. No medical details beyond what he described on the podcast have been released.

Family and friends

Faulk said he has not had a conversation with his family or friends about the diagnosis. "If it comes a time to where my lifestyle changes, then I will," he said. "I'm functioning. I'm good. I just think I caught it early. I'm in a good place."

His statement

In a statement Thursday, Oct. 22, Faulk said an "early finding related to Parkinson's disease" had come out of his annual medical visits. He said he wants to use the moment to educate others.

His target audience is specific. He wants to reach "my brothers who shared the football field with me, along with athletes and men everywhere" and push them to schedule regular checkups and seek care when something feels off.

"Too often, we put our health on the back burner while focusing on our families, careers and responsibilities. We cannot afford to do that," he wrote. "This is bigger than football. It is about our health, our families and our future."

On the podcast he put it more simply: "I want to help as many people as I can."

The football résumé

Faulk was the No. 2 overall pick in the 1994 NFL Draft. He played 12 NFL seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and the St. Louis Rams. He was the league MVP in 2000 and helped the Rams win Super Bowl XXXIV, the anchor of the "Greatest Show on Turf" offense.

He retired after the 2005 season with 12,279 rushing yards, 6,875 receiving yards, 100 rushing touchdowns and 136 total touchdowns. He was a seven-time Pro Bowler and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011. His college career at San Diego State earned him College Football Hall of Fame induction in 2017.

After one season as Deion Sanders' running backs coach at Colorado, Faulk took over as head coach at Southern. This is his first season in the job.

The wider pattern

Yahoo Sports cited a study from earlier this year that found NFL players had a Parkinson's mortality risk nearly four times that of the average person. Brett Favre, Ahman Green and Bernie Kosar are among former NFL players living with the disease. Faulk has not said whether he links his own diagnosis to football.

Southern has not announced any change to his coaching duties. Faulk's own statement frames the near term as business as usual: he says he is functioning, treated and working, and that he will talk to those closest to him if his lifestyle changes.