He's a former SU football player, Atlanta Falcon, lawyer, broadcaster and author.

But in the past few years, one title has grown louder than the others.

"During the day if I start to get down about something, I say, I stop myself and say 'don't do that. Don't look at what went wrong, look forward and see how something good can come from that,' " Tim Green said. 

Green has been diagnosed with ALS. He can't talk as well as he used too, so now his son Troy speaks for him.

After sharing his diagnosis just over a week ago, he wants to use his platform to help raise money for research on medical advances.

"We are focusing on people who have ALS today," says his son Troy Green. "When you have it, how can we improve the daily life, trying to reverse some of the effects, slow some of the effects. And everything is going toward new cutting edge treatments."

Since sharing his story, his organization, Tackle ALS, has raised more than $1 million in just the last week.

ALS affects the nervous system, causing muscle weakness, speech problems and difficulty breathing. Green believes football may have contributed to the disease, but doctors say there's no proven connection. His family says every dollar counts.

"People need to keep that in mind, theres no donation to small. And even if you don't want to donate anything, if you just share the website with some other people that's how you beat these things," says Troy. 

Green says the fundraising helps to keep him in good spirits.

"I'm blessed. And when I wake up, I look at the things I have. Beautiful family, home, and town ... and I can walk right now, I can speak a little, I can write, do emails, phone calls," Green said.

If you're interested in "Tackling ALS" by donating, visit their website at tackleALS.com.