Stephen Michael Gleason (born March 19, 1977) is an American former professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player who played as a
safety
Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk.
Meanings
The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...
with the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL). He played
college football
College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
for the
Washington State Cougars
The Washington State Cougars (known informally as the Cougs) are the sport, athletic teams that represent Washington State University. Located in Pullman, Washington, WSU is a member of the Pac-12 Conference in NCAA Division I. The athletic pr ...
. Originally signed by the
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...
as an
undrafted free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...
in 2000, he played for the Saints through the
2006
2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification.
Events
January
* January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute.
* January 12 – A stampede during t ...
season. As a
free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...
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
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
in the team's first home game after
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...
.
In 2011, Gleason revealed that he was battling
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease).
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''.
He was awarded a
Congressional Gold Medal
The Congressional Gold Medal is the oldest and highest civilian award in the United States, alongside the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is bestowed by vote of the United States Congress, signed into law by the president. The Gold Medal exp ...
in 2019 and the
Arthur Ashe Courage Award in 2024 for his contributions to ALS awareness.
Amateur career
Born and raised in
Spokane, Washington
Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...
, Gleason attended high school at
Gonzaga Prep, where he earned consecutive defensive
MVP
MVP most commonly refers to:
* Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition
* Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering
MVP may also refer to:
...
awards as a
linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...
in the
Greater Spokane League (GSL).
He was also a
fullback on offense.
Gleason then played
college football
College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
for the
Washington State Cougars
The Washington State Cougars (known informally as the Cougs) are the sport, athletic teams that represent Washington State University. Located in Pullman, Washington, WSU is a member of the Pac-12 Conference in NCAA Division I. The athletic pr ...
.
He was a starting linebacker for the
1997
Events January
* January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States.
* January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis.
* January 1 ...
team that lost in the
Rose Bowl. He was a four-year starter for the
Cougars baseball team in center field and holds the school record for triples.
Professional career
The
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...
signed Gleason as an
undrafted free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...
in 2000. He was released by the team after the preseason and was signed to the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...
' practice squad in November. He 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 and memorable moments in Saints history when he blocked a
punt by
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...
punter
Michael Koenen early in the first quarter of a game at the
Superdome.
Curtis Deloatch recovered the ball in the Falcons'
end zone
The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on the opposite side of the field ...
for a touchdown. It was the first score in the Saints' first game in
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
in nearly 21 months, during which time
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...
had
devastated the city and
the team.
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.
Personal life
Gleason and his wife, Michel Rae Varisco, have a son, Rivers, and a daughter, Gray. Six weeks after receiving a diagnosis of ALS, the couple discovered they were expecting their first child.
Gleason, who lost his voice to ALS, had his voice cloned by
CereProc
CereProc ( ) is a speech synthesis company based in Edinburgh, Scotland, founded in 2005. The company specialises in creating natural and expressive-sounding text to speech voices, synthesis voices with regional accents, and in voice cloning.
...
, a Scottish speech synthesis company.
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 film ''
Gleason'' was shown during the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.
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
NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League NTP and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and N ...
aired the episode in late November 2013. In April 2024,
Knopf
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Blanche Knopf and Alfred A. Knopf Sr. in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers ...
released Gleason's memoir ''A Life Impossible: Living with ALS: Finding Peace and Wisdom Within a Fragile Existence.''
Awards and honors
In September 2011, the Saints awarded Gleason a
Super Bowl ring
The Super Bowl ring is an award in the National Football League given to the team members of the winning team of the league's annual championship game, the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl ring offers a collectible memento for the actual players and t ...
. At the same ceremony, he was awarded the
key to the city of New Orleans by mayor
Mitch Landrieu.
Seattle Times
' – New Orleans Saints present ex-WSU player Steve Gleason with a Super Bowl ring – Associated Press – September 27, 2011 In July 2012, ''Rebirth'', a statue depicting Gleason blocking the punt, was raised outside the Superdome.
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
''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to ...
'' 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.
The Saints went on to beat the Falcons, 31–21. After the blocked punt, Gleason tweeted: "Hey, Falcons. #NeverPunt -SG".
In 2019, Gleason was awarded with a
Congressional Gold Medal
The Congressional Gold Medal is the oldest and highest civilian award in the United States, alongside the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is bestowed by vote of the United States Congress, signed into law by the president. The Gold Medal exp ...
for his contributions to ALS awareness, and became the first NFL player to ever receive the award. Gleason was presented with the award at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on January 15, 2020.
In 2024, he was awarded the
Arthur Ashe Courage Award for his contributions to ALS awareness.
NFL career statistics
Regular season
Playoffs
References
External links
TeamGleason.orgWashington State bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gleason, Steve
1977 births
Living people
American football linebackers
American football safeties
Gonzaga Preparatory School alumni
Indianapolis Colts players
New Orleans Saints players
People with motor neuron disease
Players of American football from Spokane, Washington
Washington State Cougars baseball players
Washington State Cougars football players
Congressional Gold Medal recipients
Baseball players from Spokane, Washington
Rhein Fire players