Atlanta Falcons linebacker Tim Green has no regrets about ALS – 60 Minutes

Tim Green, the NFL trainer and sports commentator, talks to Steve Kroft about his life since he was diagnosed with ALS. Green, a one-time defensive standout for the Atlanta Falcons and now best-selling author, will speak in his first interview of 60 minutes, Sunday, November 18 at 7 pm ET / PT on CBS.

Green has been silent for over two years. He is going public now, as his symptoms become more pronounced. Green tells Kroft he was diagnosed in the summer of 2016 with the incurable disease forever linked to Lou Gehrig, when his fingers and hands became affected. "I was going to see you, and I said, 'I think you have ALS.' I said, "No I do not." "The same day, he went to a neurologist, who he says told him," Get your affairs in order. "

Green believes his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is strongly linked to his football career; he was a star at Syracuse and played linebacker and defensive end in the NFL for Atlanta. "I used my head on every single play, every single play," says Green.

He is the author of dozens of fiction and non-fiction books. Green appeared on 60 Minutes in 1996 for his first non-fiction effort, "The Dark Side of the Game." He spoke to Kroft then about his time in the NFL, and even went to the possibility of the game could take 20 years off his life. Asked about this prediction, he replies, "I have not been able to do that," he tells Kroft.

But if he regrets his career now that he has ALS, he emphatically says "No … It was as magical and wonderful as I dreamed it would be."

Kroft and 60 Minutes cameras with Green in Skaneateles, New York. His Troy and wife Illyssa are also interviewed.

He takes medication to slow down the progression of the disease, but he is steadily losing the ability to use his muscles. He remains upbeat and points to his wonderful life and family. And there's always his writing. ALS has imposed on him. It's slower going on this time and it says it's a deadline for the first time. "I apologized to my editor," he tells Kroft, who quips, "I think your editor understands."