Cleveland Browns Great Bernie Kosar, who led the team to three AFC Championship appearances, says he has liver disease and was recently diagnosed with Parkinson's.
Kosar, 60, was placed on a transplant list in late spring, a revelation he made in a recent interview with Cleveland Magazine.
Cleveland Browns alum Bernie Kosar on the field before a game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns on Dec. 23, 2018, at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland. (Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The ex NFL Quarterback He explained that he was diagnosed with cirrhosis 16 months ago, but said he had a serious health scare at a Thursday night football game between the Browns and the New York Jets that he attended last season.
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“My body just gave out on me,” he told the outlet. “I really felt like I wasn't going to make it home after the Jets game. But I just stuck it out and continued to avoid doctors until the New Year. Then, I went to the hospital and got a massive blood transfusion. I was like, 'How are you alive? How are you moving? Because your hemoglobin levels are so low.'”
Kosar said he was diagnosed with Parkinson's in February by an independent NFL doctor.
Kosar's doctors told Cleveland Magazine that he will eventually need a liver transplant.
Cleveland Browns' Bernie Kosar drops back to pass against the Washington Redskins during a game on October 13, 1991, at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC. Kosar played for the Browns from 1985 to 1993. (Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
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“Liver disease tends to fluctuate,” said Dr. Anthony Post, a hepatologist at University Hospitals. “So it's kind of in a wave where it goes up and down. It's in a good phase right now, but anything bad could happen.”
Kosar echoed that sentiment, adding that he is in much better health after undergoing treatment and a lifestyle change.
“I wish I had been seen three months ago,” he said. “Actually, maybe not, because I looked dead. I felt dead. E. coli blood poisoning. Heart problems. And I really thought I needed a liver transplant ASAP. I was in really bad shape.”
Cleveland Browns all-time great quarterback Bernie Kosar is introduced to fans before a game between the New England Patriots and the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 16, 2022, at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland. (Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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“It's amazing that you can feel as good as I do despite everything that's going on,” she added. “I see that what I'm doing is making a difference. I firmly believe that it will continue to be that way. Time will tell.”
Kosar led the Browns to three AFC Championship appearances. He was fired by Cleveland coach Bill Belichick in 1993 and won a Super Bowl as a backup with the Browns. Dallas Cowboys. He passed for 23,301 yards and threw 124 touchdown passes between 1985 and 1996. He was a star at the University of Miami before being selected by the Browns with the first pick in the 1985 supplemental draft.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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