http://chicagoradioandmedia.com/news/87 ... en-off-airWMAQ-TV/NBC 5 lead sports anchor Mike Adamle has been on medical leave since March 2016. It was originally hoped he would be away only for a few weeks, but his absence has now gone on for nearly a year. Viewers have been wondering what is going on with Adamle all this time. The answers will be revealed on Tuesday night, as Adamle will openly discuss his severe disease in an interview airing on WMAQ-TV's 10:00pm newscast.
Adamle was born and raised in a suburb of Cleveland, but fell in love with the Chicago area while attending Northwestern University in the late 1960s and early 1970s. While at Northwestern, Adamle played football with the NU Wildcats, serving as team captain, and setting a rushing record in 1969 that still stands today. He was drafted as a running back by the Kansas City Chiefs in 1971, traded to the New York Jets in 1973, and happily joined the Chicago Bears in 1975. Adamle left the NFL at the start of the 1977 season, choosing to instead go into sports broadcasting.
Among the national sports outlets Adamle worked for included NBC Sports from (1977-1983), ABC Sports (1984, 1989-1994), and ESPN (1985, 1994-1995, 1996-2003). He hosted the nationally syndicated sports/reality show "American Gladiators" from 1989-1996 and "Battle of the Network Reality Stars" in 2005. Adamle joined World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) at the start of 2008 as a broadcaster, later being named as "General Manager" of WWE's show "Raw." Adamle's time with the WWE was nothing short of a disaster, though, and he was released by the end of that year.
Along with his national television work, Adamle has been somewhat of a fixture on Chicago television for the past three decades. He was a sports reporter/anchor with WLS-TV/ABC from 1983-1989. He held the same roles with WMAQ-TV from 1998-2001, followed by WBBM-TV/CBS 2 from 2001-2004. Adamle rejoined WMAQ-TV in 2005, first as a part-time freelancer, and later as a full-time employee.
Among his Chicago journalism honors include a Peter Lisagor Award for outstanding sports coverage (2001) and two local Emmy Awards (2000, 2001).
Recent years have seen some personal difficulties for Adamle, as it was publicly revealed that he and his wife Kim had filed for divorce and were living apart (the two have since reconciled and seem to be quite happy together), had his house with his wife foreclosed upon during the divorce proceeding period, and was arrested for a DUI (charges of which were later dropped when it was revealed he was not drunk, but rather dealing with a side effect from medicine he was taking).
Although still in fantastic shape and a competitor in Ironman Triathlons, Adamle has had his share of medical troubles, most notably his being diagnosed with epilepsy, something he has been open about. He sits on the Board of Directors for Epilepsy Foundation's Greater Chicago division.
In recent years, WMAQ-TV viewers have commented that Adamle had been making on-air mistakes and sometimes appeared to slurring his words and/or jumbling his words. It was first thought that it was related to his epilepsy and the medication needed to treat it.
It turns out, there is a far worse medical reason behind his on-air and off-air troubles. It also is the reason for Adamle's indefinite leave of absence from the television station.
On Tuesday night during its 10:00pm newscast, WMAQ-TV will air an interview between reporter Peggy Kusinski and Adamle, in which he will publicly reveal his medical condition, and how it relates to his years of playing football. This is something Adamle's family, friends, and co-workers have known for quite some time, but will be openly and publicly discussed for the very first time by him.
Adamle will talk about his serious health condition and why it has prevented him from working on-air, as well as his current treatment and prognosis for the future.
On Wednesday's 10:00pm newscast, WMAQ-TV will air a follow-up report with additional information on Adamle's disease.
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