Former Minnesota Vikings safety Orlando Thomas, who quietly fought the horrible disease known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in the years after he retired from the NFL back in 2001, passed away at the age of 42 on Sunday evening.
Thomas’ agent Mark Bartelstein had this to say in confirming the sad news (via ESPN.com).
Nobody’s ever fought a battle like Orlando fought, with so much dignity — I never saw anything like it…It’s just incredible. He never had a sense of self pity, never felt sorry for himself, he was always worried about everyone else. He was just the most incredible person I’ve ever been around.
Bartelstein went on to say that Thomas weighed just 70 pounds at the time of his passing, which just goes to show us how horrible this degenerative disease is to its victims.
Thomas, a second-round pick in 1995, led the league in interceptions during his rookie season and started 82 games in seven seasons.
Our thoughts go out to Thomas’ family and the entire Minnesota Vikings organization.
Photo: ESPN.com