Steve Gleason hospitalized during Hurricane Francine landfall, team says 'he is now stable'

Steve Gleason, the former New Orleans Saints punt-blocker who is now an ALS activist, is stable after being taken to the hospital Wednesday night while Hurricane Francine was making landfall.

His team posted a message on X, formerly Twitter, thanking the first responders who helped them get to Ochsner Medical Center in Jefferson, Louisiana during the dangerous storm.

Gleason, 47, is famous in Saints country for blocking a punt that was returned for a touchdown during the 2006 season, in the Saints' first game back at the Superdome since Hurricane Katrina. Gleason and the Saints won the Super Bowl that year, his last in the NFL, though he wouldn't officially retire until 2008.

After he was diagnosed with ALS, a neurodegenerative disease, in 2011, Gleason became an activist and advocate for treatment of the disease, even as it robbed him of his ability to walk, talk, and move independently.

It's not known what necessitated the sudden hospital stay. Gleason's team promised to "update everyone as soon as we know more."