Marty Lyons Leaning Towards Donating Brain to Research
Last month, former Alabama All-American and New York Jets defensive lineman Marty Lyons suffered a stroke shortly after hosting his annual charity golf tournament.
On Thursday, Lyons came on The Steve Shannon Morning Show and gave an update on his health nearly a month after the scare.
"I'm doing much better," Lyons told host Steve Shannon. "The only side effects that I have are double-vision."
That's good news for the 60-year-old who will forever live in Crimson Tide lore as a member of the 1979 goal line stand against Penn State in the Sugar Bowl. He would later go on to be drafted in the first round by the New York Jets, where he played all 11 years of his NFL career.
He's part of a generation of football players that have also started realizing the dangers of the sport. A recent study of deceased NFL players found that 99% of those examined suffered from the neurodegenerative brain disease CTE, and it's something that Lyons has expressed concern about.
"We all witnessed how it took away the life of Kevin Turner, so it is real. And I've been asked many times since I had the stroke on July 11 if I think there's any relationship between the concussions and the stroke. And really, I don't know."
That's a frightening reality for athletes today and it's led Lyons to strongly consider donating his brain to research when the time comes.
"It's something that my wife and my family have talked about. Have I gone public with it? No. But without a doubt, that's the way I'm leaning. If I can help save a life in the future through there's some sort of an awareness or research that can be done to help somebody else live a fuller, complete life, I'm going to do that."
"When that time comes, my brain's not going to do me any good. So why not be a donor and take whatever you can to preserve live for somebody else."
For now though, Lyons said he's going to take his recovery one day at a time.
"It's one of those things that's a wake-up call. God said hey, slow yourself down. You know, make more time for him. Make more time to do the things you're supposed to do."
You can hear the entire interview from The Steve Shannon Morning Show in the video below.