American football player who was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal
American football player
Steve Gleason
Gleason in January 2020
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Position:
| Safety
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Born:
| (
1977-03-19
)
March 19, 1977
(age 47)
Spokane, Washington
, U.S.
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Height:
| 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
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Weight:
| 212 lb (96 kg)
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|
High school:
| Gonzaga Prep
(Spokane, Washington)
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College:
| Washington State
(1995?1999)
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Undrafted:
| 2000
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
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Player stats at
PFR
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Stephen Michael Gleason
(born March 19, 1977) is an American former professional
football
player who played as a
safety
with the
New Orleans Saints
of the
National Football League
(NFL). He played
college football
for the
Washington State Cougars
. Originally signed by the
Indianapolis Colts
as an
undrafted free agent
in 2000, he played for the Saints through the
2006
season. As a
free agent
in 2008, Gleason retired from the NFL after eight seasons.
Gleason is particularly known for his block of a
punt
early in a 2006 game, which became a symbol of recovery in
New Orleans
in the team's first home game after
Hurricane Katrina
.
In 2011, Gleason revealed that he was battling
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease)
.
[1]
[2]
His experiences while living with the disease were captured on video over the course of a five-year period and featured in the 2016 documentary
Gleason
.
In 2019, he was awarded a
Congressional Gold Medal
for his contributions to ALS awareness.
Early life
[
edit
]
Born and raised in
Spokane, Washington
, Gleason attended high school at
Gonzaga Prep
, where he earned consecutive defensive
MVP
awards as a
linebacker
in the
Greater Spokane League
(GSL).
[3]
He also played on offense as a
fullback
.
[4]
College career
[
edit
]
Following graduation in 1995, he accepted a
scholarship
to play
college football
at
Washington State
in
Pullman
.
[5]
[6]
Gleason was a starting linebacker for the
1997
team that advanced to the
Rose Bowl
. He was a four-year starter for the
WSU baseball
team in center field and holds the school record for triples.
Professional career
[
edit
]
Gleason was signed by the
Indianapolis Colts
as an
undrafted free agent
in 2000. He was released by the team after the preseason and was signed to the
New Orleans Saints
' practice squad in November. He was chosen by the
Birmingham Thunderbolts
with the 191st pick of the
2001 XFL draft
.
[7]
On September 25, 2006, Gleason was responsible for one of the most dramatic and memorable moments in Saints history when he blocked a
punt
by
Atlanta Falcons
punter
Michael Koenen
early in the first quarter of a game at the
Superdome
.
[8]
Curtis Deloatch
recovered the ball in the Falcons'
end zone
for a touchdown. It was the first score in the Saints' first game in
New Orleans
in nearly 21 months, during which time
Hurricane Katrina
had
devastated the city
and
the team
.
[9]
The Saints won the game and went on to have
one of the most successful seasons
in their history up to that time, going to the
NFC Championship that year
.
[10]
In September 2011, Gleason was awarded a
Super Bowl ring
by the Saints.
[11]
At the same ceremony, he was awarded the
key to the city
of New Orleans by mayor
Mitch Landrieu
.
[12]
In July 2012,
Rebirth
, a statue depicting Gleason blocking the punt, was raised outside the Superdome.
[13]
NFL career statistics
[
edit
]
Regular season
[
edit
]
Year
|
Team
|
Games
|
Tackles
|
Interceptions
|
Fumbles
|
GP
|
GS
|
Cmb
|
Solo
|
Ast
|
Sck
|
TFL
|
Int
|
Yds
|
TD
|
Lng
|
PD
|
FF
|
FR
|
Yds
|
TD
|
2000
|
NO
|
3
|
0
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
0.0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2001
|
NO
|
7
|
0
|
3
|
3
|
0
|
0.0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
2002
|
NO
|
14
|
0
|
16
|
15
|
1
|
0.0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2003
|
NO
|
16
|
0
|
8
|
8
|
0
|
0.0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
2004
|
NO
|
15
|
0
|
9
|
7
|
2
|
0.0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2005
|
NO
|
13
|
1
|
14
|
12
|
2
|
0.0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2006
|
NO
|
15
|
0
|
18
|
17
|
1
|
0.0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
83
|
1
|
71
|
64
|
7
|
0.0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
Playoffs
[
edit
]
Year
|
Team
|
Games
|
Tackles
|
Interceptions
|
Fumbles
|
GP
|
GS
|
Cmb
|
Solo
|
Ast
|
Sck
|
TFL
|
Int
|
Yds
|
TD
|
Lng
|
PD
|
FF
|
FR
|
Yds
|
TD
|
2000
|
NO
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0.0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2006
|
NO
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0.0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
0.0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Personal life
[
edit
]
Gleason and his wife, Michel Rae Varisco, have a son, Rivers,
[14]
and a daughter, Gray.
[15]
Six weeks after receiving a diagnosis of ALS, the couple discovered they were expecting their first child.
Gleason collaborated with filmmaker
Sean Pamphilon
to produce a documentary on his battle with ALS that would double as a video journal for his infant son, Rivers. The documentary included a 12-minute clip of Saints defensive coach
Gregg Williams
openly encouraging his players to injure opponents prior to a January
2012
playoff game against the
San Francisco 49ers
. Pamphilon released the audio recording on April 4, 2012, in the wake of the
Bountygate
scandal. Gleason criticized the decision, saying that he did not authorize its release.
[16]
Gleason, who had lost his voice to ALS, had his voice cloned by
CereProc
, a Scottish speech synthesis company.
[17]
Gleason was featured in an episode of the documentary series
A Football Life
that detailed his career in the NFL and battle with ALS.
NFL Network
aired the episode in late November 2013.
[18]
[19]
In 2015, Gleason was chosen to receive the 2015
George Halas Award
from the
Pro Football Writers Association
.
[20]
He was presented the award at the
Thursday Night Football
game between the Saints and Falcons on October 15, 2015. Near the end of the first quarter, he watched as Saints linebacker
Michael Mauti
blocked a punt by Falcons punter
Matt Bosher
and returned it for a touchdown to give the Saints a 14?0 lead. Mauti, a New Orleans native and the son of former Saints player
Rich Mauti
, had attended the 2006 game where Gleason made his famous block.
[21]
The Saints went on to beat the Falcons, 31?21. After the blocked punt, Gleason tweeted: "Hey, Falcons. #NeverPunt -SG".
[22]
The documentary film
Gleason
was shown during the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.
[23]
In 2019, Gleason was awarded with a
Congressional Gold Medal
for his contributions to ALS awareness,
[24]
[25]
and became the first NFL player to ever receive the award.
[26]
Gleason was presented with the award at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on January 15, 2020.
[27]
In the
Netflix
original movie
Project Power
, actor
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
wears a Gleason jersey in several scenes.
In April 2024,
Knopf
released Gleason's memoir
A Life Impossible: Living with ALS: Finding Peace and Wisdom Within a Fragile Existence.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Steve Gleason diagnosed with ALS"
.
ESPN
.
Associated Press
. Retrieved
September 25,
2011
.
- ^
NOLA.com
? New Orleans Saints cult hero Steve Gleason battling ALS ? September 25, 2011
- ^
Trimmer, Dave (January 26, 1995).
"Bullpup becomes a Cougar"
.
The Spokesman-Review
. p. C5
. Retrieved
June 22,
2016
.
- ^
McCarthy, Jane (July 23, 2015).
"Steve Gleason returns home for Gonzaga Prep reunion"
.
usatodayhss.com
. USA Today High School Sports
. Retrieved
June 22,
2016
.
- ^
Seattle Times
? Gleason Grows Into Role At WSU ? October 21, 1999
- ^
Seattle Times
? Ex-Cougars star Steve Gleason, suffering from ALS, gives some inspiring words ? November 12, 2011
- ^
Inaugural XFL Draft
, oursportscentral.com, October 31, 2000.
- ^
Triplett, Mike (April 6, 2020).
"Steve Gleason's 2006 blocked punt symbolized the 'rebirth' of the Saints, New Orleans"
.
ESPN
. Retrieved
November 15,
2020
.
- ^
Thompson, Wright
Beyond the Breach
ESPN
. August 25, 2015.
- ^
Grantham, Zayne (November 5, 2011).
"New Orleans Saints: The 5 Best Teams in Franchise History"
.
Bleacher Report
. Retrieved
November 15,
2020
.
- ^
"Gleason gets Super Bowl ring at surprise party in New Orleans"
.
NFL
. September 27, 2011. Archived from
the original
on September 29, 2011.
- ^
Seattle Times
? New Orleans Saints present ex-WSU player Steve Gleason with a Super Bowl ring ? Associated Press ? September 27, 2011
- ^
"Steve Gleason statue unveiled"
,
Associated Press
at
ESPN.com
, July 28, 2012.
- ^
"Steve Gleason's Son Rivers Fuels His Motivation to Continue to Fight ALS"
.
neworleanssaints.com
. June 16, 2013.
- ^
"Team Gleason"
.
www.facebook.com
.
- ^
Howard, Johnette (April 13, 2012).
"Right, wrong and the bounty tape"
.
ESPN
. Retrieved
January 1,
2019
.
- ^
Martin, Claire (January 2, 2016).
"Ex-N.F.L. Player's New Team Takes On Challenges of A.L.S."
The New York Times
.
ISSN
0362-4331
. Retrieved
February 4,
2023
.
- ^
"NFL Films special on Steve Gleason to air Tuesday"
.
The Times-Picayune
. September 13, 2013.
- ^
"NFL Network's
A Football Life
Series Profiles the Inspirational Steve Gleason"
.
NFL Communications
. November 21, 2013. Archived from
the original
on September 3, 2014.
- ^
Erickson, Joel A. (June 15, 2015).
"Steve Gleason named PFWA's George Halas Award winner"
.
The Advocate
. Archived from
the original
on September 25, 2015
. Retrieved
October 16,
2015
.
- ^
Schilken, Chuck (October 16, 2015).
"Saints' Steve Gleason and Michael Mauti were there for each other's blocked punts"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
October 16,
2015
.
- ^
Dabe, Christopher (October 15, 2015).
"Steve Gleason after Saints' punt block for TD: 'Hey, Falcons. #NeverPunt'
"
.
The Times-Picayune
. Retrieved
October 16,
2015
.
- ^
"Sundance Film Review: 'Gleason'
"
.
Variety
. January 30, 2016
. Retrieved
July 28,
2016
.
- ^
Thomas, Rachael (December 20, 2018).
"President signs legislation to award Steve Gleason with Congressional Gold Medal"
.
wlbt.com
. Retrieved
March 19,
2019
.
- ^
"New Orleans Saints legend Steve Gleason to receive Congressional Gold Medal"
.
neworleanssaints.com
. December 20, 2018
. Retrieved
March 19,
2019
.
- ^
"Steve Gleason officially awarded Congressional Gold Medal"
.
ESPN.com
. January 3, 2019
. Retrieved
March 19,
2019
.
Gleason is the first NFL player to receive a Congressional Gold Medal.
- ^
"Spokane native Steve Gleason to receive Congressional Gold Medal on Jan. 15"
.
KING 5 News
. Retrieved
January 4,
2020
.
External links
[
edit
]
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International
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National
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Artists
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