Former Dallas Cowboys great Michael Irvin revealed that his wife, Sandy, is suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
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"If anyone has earned the right to stay in her house, MY WIFE HAS!!!," Irvin said in a text to Clarence E. Hill of the Star-Telegram. "That I shall honor. No matter what it takes."
Both Irvin and Sandy are 58 years old. He said she has suffered from Alzheimer's for five or six years and requires 24-hour care. He added that the couple has a live-in caretaker and asked for prayers for the family.
Per Hill: "Irvin and Sandy, who met in college at Miami, have been together for 39 years, married for 34."
"The Bible says, if you suffer with me you shall reign with me," Irvin said. "Those guys were with me in the hard times. Let me step and try to reciprocate that kind of relationship."
Irvin is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a receiver. He was recently let go as an analyst on the NFL Network.
He was suspended by NFL Network briefly, after being accused of making lewd comments to a woman in a hotel lobby. He vehemently denied those accusations and even filed a lawsuit against the Marriott hotel. (The woman worked at the hotel.)
Irvin was suspended by the network, but reinstated after settling the suit against Marriott.
"Irvin played his entire NFL career for the Cowboys," wrote Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. "He was their first-round draft pick in 1988 and retired in 1999. He won three Super Bowl rings during his time in Dallas."
