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Justin Fields Says His Epilepsy Diagnosis “Has Had Zero Effect on Football,” and He's “Not Gonna Try to Hide It” As He Begins NFL Career

While it didn’t become public information until one week before the NFL draft, Justin Fields has known he has epilepsy since he was in the ninth grade.

One day after the former Ohio State quarterback was selected by the Chicago Bears with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, he spoke publicly about that condition for the first time.

“So basically, I had a seizure in school, and it was crazy, because I just woke up in an ambulance,” Fields said Friday. “It was definitely a crazy story for me.”

The revelation that Fields had epilepsy, which was reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero just eight days before the draft, came as a shock to many, as his diagnosis had never previously been disclosed to the public.