Pro Football Hall of Fame running back and Southern University coach Marshall Faulk revealed that he’s been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
Faulk, 53, disclosed the diagnosis on a podcast Wednesday.
Faulk said he noticed “rigidity” in his hands after playing golf.
“I just thought it was normal nerves when putting and stuff like that,” Faulk said, according to ESPN Senior NFL Insider Adam Schefter.
“But it started to be times where … I was playing, but I wasn’t in a match, and it would still do that. And 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 continued.
Marshall Faulk said he gets physicals twice a year and noticed that after playing golf, he would experience “rigidity” in his hands. “I just thought it was normal nerves when putting and stuff like that,” he said. “But it started to be times where … I was playing, but I wasn’t… https://t.co/pwDXtnMqT8
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 23, 2026
ESPN shared further:
Faulk told Dr. Sandeep Thakkar on the show “The Caring Neurologist” that in discussing his illness, “I want to help as many people as I can.”
Faulk played more than 10 seasons in the NFL, first with the Indianapolis Colts and then with the St. Louis Rams, with whom he won a Super Bowl and was named Most Valuable Player. After major knee surgery, he retired in 2007.
Four years later, in his first year of eligibility, he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Faulk was an assistant on Deion Sanders’ Colorado coaching staff before taking the head coaching job at Southern in November. He has led the team to a 3-4 record this season.
Faulk said he doesn’t view the diagnosis as a terminal condition, describing an interaction with boxing legend Muhammad Ali, who had Parkinson’s.
“So, knowing that, I didn’t look at it like if I got a diagnosis, life was going to end,” Faulk said, according to ESPN.
“I treat it like — I’ve had a bunch of surgeries on my right knee. There’s some parts in it that aren’t mine, that aren’t original. My back, you know, it hurts every once in a while,” he continued.
“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 added.
Southern head coach and NFL Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, he announced🙏https://t.co/nU6mECfPCF pic.twitter.com/JpdCWK39qJ
— On3 (@On3) October 22, 2026
More from the New York Post:
Faulk’s life has remained relatively unchanged, but the seven-time Pro Bowler still experiences rigidity in his hands.
“The little tremors that I get, you know, they are what they are,” Faulk said. “I just pay attention to my gait, you know, while I walk, when I’m working out, my ability to balance. It’s still where it is.”
The Rams great said he is more active and sleeping more since his treatment began, and he described himself as “one of the lucky ones” with his diagnosis coming early.
Faulk’s positivity comes from the fact that the disease can be managed through treatment, comparing it to recovering from an injury, as he did during his career in the NFL.
He added that he wants to be an advocate for people seeking help when they experience the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.
Faulk does not seem to have shared his diagnosis extensively with his family, saying that he hasn’t “really had the conversation with them about it.”
