Rangers' Adam Fox raising money for ALS, inspired by his father-in-law, Tim Green

Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge, the social media phenomenon in which athletes, celebrities and everyday people dumped a bucket of ice water over their heads in order to raise money and awareness for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis?

When Rangers defenseman Adam Fox first began dating his wife, Tate, a fellow student at Harvard, that viral fundraiser was about all he knew about the incurable nervous system disease commonly referred to as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Fast-forward nine years and Fox is spearheading an on-ice fundraiser of his own, helping to raise both money and awareness for the disease that Tate’s father, former NFL player Tim Green, was diagnosed with in 2016.

Before this season, the Jericho native — who wears No. 23 — announced that he would be personally donating $1,023 for every goal he scores and $523 for every assist to Tackle ALS, a fundraising initiative that Green started. So far, Fox has donated $15,098 with his three goals and 23 assists.

Fox is looking to add to that total as soon as he gets back from rehabbing the left shoulder injury he suffered in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Nov. 29.

To date, through other activities, Team Adam Fox has raised more than $101,000, according to TackleALS.com. More than $10.3 million has been raised to fund ALS research since Green started the fund. Donations can be made at TackleALS.com.

“They have done so much,” Fox said of the Green family. “They’ve raised money for research trials and new technology to help the people who have it. Tate and I wanted to try to do something, and we thought that scoring goals for charity was a fun way to raise money and bring awareness.”

Green was a first-round selection out of Syracuse in the 1986 draft and played eight seasons as a linebacker and defensive end for the Atlanta Falcons before moving into the broadcast booth after his retirement. He also became an attorney and author, with his youth sports series reaching The New York Times best-seller list for children’s chapter books.

Around 2011, Green realized something was wrong when he was having problems using nail clippers. In 2016, he was diagnosed with a slow-progressing version of ALS.

Green, 61, now is confined to a wheelchair and needs the help of a ventilator to breathe and a feeding tube to eat. He communicates through a tablet that has a camera that reads his eyes as he types. He has written two books that way and also used the technology to respond to an email with questions for this story.

“Raising money is always important, but I think awareness is even bigger,” Green said in his email to Newsday. “Most people only know ALS from the Ice Bucket Challenge, and after that moment passed, the disease drifted back into the shadows. Adam using his platform to talk about it brings ALS back into the light. Even if someone can’t donate, just learning about the disease, sharing the story, or talking about it . . . that matters.

“ALS is still underfunded and misunderstood, and the more people who understand what families are facing, the closer we get to real change.”

Green also co-hosts a podcast with his son Troy called “Tim Green’s Nothing Left Unsaid.” They use AI voice-cloning technology by ElevenLabs to replicate his voice from old recordings. This allows him to communicate and conduct interviews despite having lost his voice to ALS.

The podcast also raises money to fight the disease and has featured a number of well-known guests, including Troy Aikman, Allan Houston and Fox.

Green, who lives upstate in Skaneateles, continues to attend sporting events, including Falcons and Rangers games. He attended the Rangers-San Jose game on Oct. 23 and has plans to be at the NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 2 when the Rangers play the Florida Panthers outdoors at loanDepot Park in Miami.

“He’s an inspiration,” Fox said of his father-in-law. “One of the things we’ve tried to emphasize in addition to funding research is that people don’t have to accept it and just fade away. He’s an inspiration for people that you can do a lot of normal things. Obviously, physically it is really tough. But the mental element is really important too.”

Fox regularly meets with ALS patients. He has a suite reserved at Madison Square Garden for those who are living with the disease or families like his own who have been impacted by it.

“I think the biggest thing I’d like people to know is the physical elements start deteriorating but the same person is there and it’s the same brain,’’ Fox said. “Obviously, if you see someone attached to a chair, it’s hard, but they are still normal people. We are trying to allow them to do normal things. Go to Rangers games, get out. I think that’s the biggest thing for me.”

The family is excited about new advancements in ALS research, but Green says it’s equally important for those who are impacted by the disease to live in the present.

“I always tell people that there is hope. Not someday, not in some distant future — right now,” Green said. “We’re living through a moment where science is finally catching up to the courage of these families. There are new drugs, new discoveries, new trials . . . more progress in the last five years than the 50 before it.

“But beyond the science, I tell people to pour their energy into what truly matters . . . their family, friends, and faith. None of us gets out of this place alive, but we can choose to live fully. ALS doesn’t get to take that away from you, so don’t give it an inch.”

By Barbara Barker

barbara.barker@newsday.commeanbarb

Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.