Brett Favre was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in January after he began having trouble using his right arm and was unable to hold a screwdriver steady, the Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback said in an interview with TMZ Sports. Favre disclosed he has the disease Monday as part of his testimony to a congressional committee about a welfare misspending scandal in Mississippi. Favre revealed the diagnosis to TMZ Sports in late August but requested it not be reported, the outlet noted in the story it posted Tuesday.
He gave permission for his diagnosis to be reported after the congressional hearing. Favre said he suspected something was wrong when his right arm would get “stuck.” He said he didn't notice a decrease in strength but was unable to hold a screwdriver with one hand.
He said he notified his physician about the problem when he struggled to put on a jacket. “I felt my arm, the strength was there, but I could not guide it," he told TMZ Sports. "And it was the most frustrating thing.
” Favre said five Parkinson's specialists told him they believed head trauma played a role in his developing the disease. “Well, hell, I wrote the book on head trauma,” said Favre, who once estimated he had “thousands” of concussions. Favre said one of his doctors told him people typically show more effects of the disease by the time they are diagnosed.
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who was Favre’s teammate for three seasons in Green Bay, said Tuesday it is .