Chiefs owner Clark Hunt thanks the Lord after 3rd Super Bowl win

Former Atlanta Falcons pass rusher Tim Green spent eight seasons trying to slow down some of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history — Joe Montana, Warren Moon, John Elway and so many more. Sacking such legends was a monumental challenge indeed, but one Green accomplished 24 times during his eight-year career.

Now, Green is facing an even bigger challenge — ALS — and he’s tackling it with similar ferocity.

Green was first diagnosed with the progressive neuro-degenerative disease (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) in 2016 and initially given as little as six months to live, but he didn’t despair. In fact, he clung to the hope of Christ. “Hope has never had a place in my heart bigger than now,” Green wrote in an email to Sports Spectrum.

Nine years after his diagnosis, Green is continuing to use his God-given gift of communication to make the world a better place.

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Despite losing his ability to speak and type, Green has written three books using only eye-tracking technology. His latest youth novel, set to release on Sept. 23, is titled “Rocket Arm.” It’s a book that gives readers a glimpse into the pressures of the hyper-competitive world of youth athletics, highlighting the greater importance of family and community. It’s also an allegory, pointing to the fact that true identity is found in Jesus Christ, not in any athletic achievements.

The story of a pre-teen quarterback named Zeno and his rocket arm is fictional. However, Zeno’s coach at the heart of the story is inspired in part by a man who changed the trajectory of Green’s life.

“Coach Mac (Dick MacPherson) was special,” Green wrote of his college coach at Syracuse. “In a world with so much pressure to win, Coach Mac told us that our priorities should be God, family, school, and then football. … We knew Mac meant what he said, because he lived a life of faith.”

In March 2024, Green launched a podcast called “Nothing Left Unsaid” with his son, Troy, powered by an AI program that restores his original voice. The podcast provides a platform for Tim to speak about his Christian faith and to raise money for ALS. His efforts with Tackle ALS, a nonprofit online fundraising campaign he founded in 2018 at Massachusetts General Hospital, have helped raise more than $10 million for ALS research.

“You don’t live with ALS—ALS lives with you.” At 36, @brookeeby inspired @daysbyjames to turn his ALS diagnosis into purpose. Now, he’s become one of the most prominent ALS/MND advocates in the UK. pic.twitter.com/y1ecUsn5Lu

— Nothing Left Unsaid (@nlutimgreen) September 17, 2025

Hall of Famer @dwightfreeney joins us on Nothing Left Unsaid to talk spin moves, career highlights, and why he’s betting big on @CuseFootball’s future. pic.twitter.com/fzccJoW2OY

— Nothing Left Unsaid (@nlutimgreen) August 27, 2025

Green was a first-round pick by the Falcons in 1986 after starring for Syracuse in the mid-80s. After his NFL career, the College Football Hall of Famer and Liverpool, New York, native received his law degree from Syracuse while serving as a commentator with “Fox NFL Sunday.” Green was also a two-time Academic All-American at Syracuse, and he’s now passing his lifelong love of reading on to the next generation; Green has written more than 40 books, many for youth audiences with an interest in sports. His books have been massively popular, and he’s a New York Times No. 1 bestselling author.

Through every endeavor and every success for Green, the one constant has been Christ, who is a firm foundation. Green seeks in all things to point others not to himself but to Jesus Christ, and that includes in his battle with ALS.

“My definition of success,” Green wrote, “is using your God-given gifts for God’s purposes and glory and not your own.”

But it wasn’t always so easy for him.

“At first, my spiritual life suffered severely,” Green wrote in his email about receiving his ALS diagnosis. “Questions like, ‘Why me, God?’ I was in the pit of despair and having suicidal thoughts. Then, I woke up one morning and the Spirit spoke to me. … This was God’s plan for me, and I was being given a second chance.

“I had already accepted Jesus as my personal Savior, but it was a one-way street. I was a selfish, sinful and undercover Christian. What God was giving me a chance to do was repent. I was lost, but now I am found.”

His questions and worries — his uncertainty about the future — vanished as he saw clearly the Rock on which he stood. Jesus was calling Green to honor Him by advocating for the thousands of people who have ALS and other terminal diseases.

“I would tell them it’s not over till it’s over,” Green wrote. “In other words, no one gets out of this place alive, and you’ve got to make the most of your time here, however short that is. A huge part of that is giving your soul over to Jesus. He loves us, and He has a forgiving nature.”

Hope.

It’s a word that Green wrestled with often after his diagnosis, and it’s a word that for Green finds its truest manifestation in the person of Jesus Christ. His hope is known; his hope is sure. And because of this truth, a 61-year-old man who’s succeeded at much — a man with ALS who now can’t move many of his muscles — can still reflect on his life and abound in hope of a different kind.

“Now that my hopes have been realized, I have a whole new list,” Green wrote. “I hope that I will see our youngest graduate from college and get married, have kids. Finish my next book that supposes Christianity as a kind of superpower, which it is.

“… But, what I hope for most is a cure.”

Visit Green’s website to learn more about his story, buy one of his books, and donate to Tackle ALS.

>> Do you know Christ personally? Learn how you can commit your life to Him. <<

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