Mike Lynch, who started in 2022 as the Portland Trail Blazers Radio Network host, posted to his X account saying he has been diagnosed with ALS. Lynch, 34, was given the diagnosis on January 2nd and he confirmed he will not be coming back to the radio.
“Hi everyone, I know it’s been a long time, but sadly I am returning with bad news,” Lynch wrote. “A few months ago, I was diagnosed with ALS. If you are willing and able, I have a GoFundMe below. The full details of the disease and story are there.”
Prior to joining the Trail Blazers network, Lynch had spent 11 years with Portland’s 1080 The Fan.
The GoFundMe was posted by his partner Ashley Kenyon who has two children she says Lynch is a father figure to. A portion of Mike’s story is posted below:
“Prior to the diagnosis, Mike went to Syracuse to study broadcasting in hopes to land his dream career of working for a professional sports team. Mike started his broadcasting journey in Portland, OR in 2011 as a Producer and host with 1080 The Fan, sports radio. He developed a large fan base within the Portland community, during his 11 years working with 1080 The Fan.
Until October 2022 when he finally got the opportunity to achieve his dream job, with the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers as the Radio Network Host. He got the opportunity to complete the ’22-’23 season and was ecstatic for what the future with the Blazers would be like, as he had many ideas he wanted to bring to the future seasons. He received great feedback and was welcomed with open arms to return for the following seasons and extend his contract.
At the start of pre-season in October of ’23, Mike noticed a big change in his ability to project his voice, say words clearly on a consistent basis and was having a hard time walking around the court.
l November ’23 he had to take a leave of absence due to having a difficult time driving, balancing while walking and speaking at the ability he needed to for the radio.
We finally made it to our appointment with the ALS clinic on January 2nd, 2024 and after a few short tests the diagnosis of ALS, our worst nightmare, was confirmed.
Since the diagnosis, Mike had to leave his career with the Blazers, and has been struggling to do the things that he really enjoyed prior to his diagnosis.”
