Former Saint Gleason has ALS

NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Former New Orleans Saint Steve Gleason says he hopes he can "motivate the world" by publicly announcing he has been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease.

Also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the condition is a rare terminal disease that attacks the nerves that control the body's voluntary muscle movements.

The Saints invited Gleason -- who famously blocked a punt in the first post-Hurricane Katrina Superdome game -- to serve as a ceremonial team captain for Sunday's game against the Houston Texans at the Superdome, which the Saints won 40-33, The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune reported.

Gleason says he shared the diagnosis with friends and family in January but for personal reasons waited until now to go public.

"It's easy to start questioning whether God has this plan and why the plan would include me getting diagnosed with this disease," Gleason said. "And that's when you can start why-ing yourself to death.

"If we have a purpose in life beyond being a cog in the human machine, mine is to help inspire people and that's pretty cool. I would like to motivate the world."

Gleason played football at Washington State on a four-year scholarship and had an eight-year NFL career, retiring in 2008.