Steve Gleason

Stephen Michael "Steve" Gleason (born March 19, 1977) is a former professional football player, a safety with the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. Originally signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2000, he played for the Saints through the 2007 season. As a free agent in 2008, Gleason retired from the NFL after eight seasons. Gleason is especially well known for his blocked punt in a 2006 game that became a symbol of recovery in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. In 2011, he revealed that he was battling ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Early years
Raised in Spokane, Gleason attended Gonzaga Prep, where he earned consecutive defensive MVP awards as a linebacker in the Greater Spokane League. Gleason also played baseball at G-Prep and broke the GSL homerun recored his senior year. Following graduation in 1995, he accepted a scholarship to play college football at Washington State in Pullman. Gleason was a starting linebacker for the 1998 Rose Bowl team. Gleason was also a four year starter for the WSU baseball team. Gleason played center field and still holds the WSU record for triples. While at WSU, he was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.

Professional career
Gleason was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2000. He was released by the team after the preseason and was signed to the New Orleans Saints' practice squad in November.

Gleason was chosen by the Birmingham Thunderbolts with the 191st pick of the 2001 XFL Draft.

On September 25, 2006, Gleason was responsible for one of the most dramatic moments in Saints history, when he blocked a punt by Atlanta Falcons kicker Michael Koenen early in the first quarter of a game at the Superdome. Curtis Deloatch recovered the ball in the Falcons' end zone for a touchdown. It was the first score in the Saints' first game in New Orleans in nearly 21 months, during which time Hurricane Katrina had devastated the city and the team. The Saints won the game and, unexpectedly, went on to have the most successful season in their history up to that time. Gleason did not play for the 2009 Saints team that won Super Bowl XLIV, but in September 2011, he was awarded a Super Bowl ring by the Saints. At the same ceremony he was awarded the key to the city of New Orleans by mayor Mitch Landrieu. In July 2012, "Rebirth", a statue depicting Gleason blocking the punt, was erected outside the Superdome; a news report commented that the blocked punt "etched Steve Gleason into Saints lore and became symbolic of New Orleans' resilience in the face of disaster".

NFL Bounty Scandal
Beginning in 2011, he collaborated with a filmmaker, Sean Pamphilon, to document his life with ALS. This included a clip of a Saints locker room talk by Gregg Williams which exhorted his players to injure opposing players. The audio tape became public April 4, 2012, shortly after Williams had been suspended for his role in Bountygate. Gleason criticized Pamphilon after the tape became public, saying that the filmmaker did not have rights to release the tape.