Former Dallas Cowboys star receiver Michael Irvin revealed that his wife of 34 years, Sandy, has been battling early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
The 58-year-old first broke the news of her diagnosis during a soft opening of his “Playmakers88” sports bar in Texas, saying she’s been dealing with the disease for five or six years.
Mr. Irvin told the outlet that Sandy has trouble walking and speaking, but did not further elaborate on her symptoms.
The couple met in college at the University of Miami and have been together for nearly 40 years. They married in 1990, and will celebrate their 34th wedding anniversary on June 25.
Playmakers88
Aside from football, Mr. Irvin found passion in the restaurant business, opening up his latest endeavor, called Playmakers88, in The Colony, just outside of Dallas.The name of the sports bar pays tribute to the nickname and jersey number by which he was known during his 12-year career.
Mr. Irvin, who won three Super Bowl titles with the Dallas Cowboys in the ‘90s, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007.
He retired from professional football in 2000, and worked as an analyst for ESPN and the NFL Network, before being dropped as a result of legal troubles.
In February of 2023, Mr. Irvin was pulled from Super Bowl LVII coverage after being accused of inappropriate behavior by an employee at a Phoenix, Arizona, hotel. Specifics of the allegations were unclear, but Mr. Irvin has denied all claims made against him.
He filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit against the “Renaissance Phoenix Downtown Hotel,” a Marriott hotel chain, before reaching a settlement that same year.
Early-Onset Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder affecting a person’s ability to function. It is the most common cause of dementia, a gradual decline in memory, thinking, behavior, and social skills. Nearly 7 million Americans are living with the disease.Younger-onset, also known as early-onset Alzheimer’s, is much less common and affects people younger than age 65.
There is currently no cure for early-onset Alzheimer’s, but with early detection and some treatment options like medication, some people have slowed the progress of the disease.