Steve Gleason once sparked hope in a New Orleans ravaged by Hurricane Katrina with a blocked punt in the Saints’ first home game back at the Superdome in 2006. Since 2011, though, he has been battling the crippling disease known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease.
This is, of course, the subject of the upcoming documentary, Gleason. From going undrafted in 2000, to playing in the short lived XFL, to the blocked punt, Steve Gleason had quite an uphill battle in the NFL as well. Following Gleason’s diagnosis, his wife gave birth to a son and the documentary appears to be a sort of scrapbook for his son to see who he was before the disease left him confined to an electric wheelchair and unable to speak naturally.
In all honesty, there’s not much to be said about this documentary that the trailer can’t say better. Gleason’s story is truly a heartbreaking one but the man continues to persist and live on despite the debilitating effects of his disease. The average survival rate after diagnosis is three to four years while Gleason has surpassed the five year mark since he announced that he was living with ALS.
Gleason premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and will see a widespread release on July 29th. Check out the emotional trailer and comment below.
