Former Auburn University assistant football coach Frank Orgel invited Bo Jackson to the first Changing The Game Awards Dinner last year but Jackson couldn’t make it.

“I had another engagement,” the former Tigers running back and 1985 Heisman Trophy winner said Wednesday night at The Club in Birmingham. “I told him if I was free this year, I would come. I made it a point to put it on my schedule to be here.”

And indeed he was. Jackson and former University of Alabama running back Tony Nathan were the featured speakers at the second annual fundraising event benefiting the ALS Association Alabama Chapter.

Football great Bo Jackson raises funds for ALS from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, is a disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, according to the ALS Association. With ALS, motor neurons that reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to muscles throughout the body degenerate and die, leading to loss of muscle control. People with ALS may lose the ability to speak, eat, move and breathe.

Nathan hopes his appearance spurs people to get involved in the fight against ALS. Asked if he would play football amid speculation that head trauma leads to ALS, Nathan said he wouldn’t change a thing.

“Hopefully, things like that don’t happen to you,” he said. “Sometimes it’s the nature of the beast.”

Jackson said head trauma isn’t limited to sports.

“You can fall off the ladder at home putting up Christmas lights,” he said. “It’s just one of those things you have to deal with through life.”

Bo Jackson and Tony Nathan

Bo Jackson talks to members of the media (Nik Layman)

Bo Jackson at the ALS event

Steve Smith, Jackson’s fullback in his days playing with the Oakland Raiders, has had ALS nearly two decades, Jackson said. The former Auburn standout said Smith is now bedridden.

“Debilitating diseases don’t discriminate,” Jackson said. “They don’t care how much money you’ve got, how big your house is. They don’t care how many cars you drive or how many employees you have under you. It can hit anywhere.”

Orgel has long had ALS but Jackson said “he’s still Coach Orgel.”

“Even though he has this disease, he’s still ornery,” the former dual sports pro said. “He still has (his wits). Don’t let the wheelchair fool you. He’s still ornery.”

The former Tiger assistant coach was chided about wearing a red tie. He explained that red is the color for ALS.

“It has nothing to do with Alabama, I can assure you,” Orgel said. “Now I’m on the ALS team.”