Steve Gleason

Stephen Michael Gleason (born March 19, 1977) is a former professional American football player who played as a safety with the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). Originally signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2000, he played for the Saints through the 2007 season. As a free agent in 2008, Gleason retired from the NFL after eight seasons. Gleason is especially well known for his blocked punt in a 2006 game that became a symbol of recovery in New Orleans in the team's first home game after Hurricane Katrina. In 2011, he revealed that he was battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. His experiences while living with the disease were captured on video over the course of a five-year period and are featured in the 2016 documentary, Gleason.

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). He also played on offense as a fullback. Gleason also played baseball at G-Prep as an outfielder and broke the GSL home run record his senior year.

Following graduation in 1995, he accepted a scholarship to play college football at Washington State in Pullman. Gleason was a starting linebacker for the 1997 team that advanced to the Rose Bowl, and a four-year starter for the WSU baseball team in center field; he still holds the school record for triples. At WSU, he was a member of Alpha Tau Omega.

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.

Gleason was chosen by the Birmingham Thunderbolts with the 191st pick of the 2001 XFL Draft.

On September 25, 2006, Gleason was responsible for one of the most dramatic 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. 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. The Saints won the game and, unexpectedly, went on to have the most successful season in their history up to that time. Gleason did not play for the 2009 Saints team that won Super Bowl XLIV, but in September 2011, he was awarded a Super Bowl ring by the Saints. At the same ceremony he was awarded the key to the city of New Orleans by mayor Mitch Landrieu. In July 2012, Rebirth, a statue depicting Gleason blocking the punt, was raised outside the Superdome; a news report commented that the blocked punt "etched Steve Gleason into Saints lore and became symbolic of New Orleans' resilience in the face of disaster".

Beginning in 2011, he collaborated with a filmmaker, Sean Pamphilon, to document his life with ALS for his unborn son, and a feature documentary they were co-directing. This included a twelve-minute clip, filmed by Pamphilon in a hotel conference room before a 2011 playoff game, of Saints defensive coach Gregg Williams, which included Williams encouraging his players to injure opposing 49ers players. The audio tape became public April 4, 2012 in the wake of the Bountygate scandal. Gleason criticized Pamphilon after the tape became public, saying that he did not authorize its public release.

Gleason is married; he and his wife, Michel Rae Varisco, were trying to conceive when Gleason received the diagnosis that he had ALS. Their son Rivers was born in October 2011.

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.

In 2015, Gleason was chosen to receive the 2015 George Halas Award from the Pro Football Writers Association. 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, Gleason 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 a former Saints player, had attended the 2006 game where Gleason made his famous block. The Saints went on to beat the Falcons, 31–21. After the blocked punt, Gleason tweeted: "Hey, Falcons. #NeverPunt -SG".

The documentary film Gleason was shown during the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.