the buzz log

Over the course of a glittering athletic career, running back Herschel Walker shattered records, racked up yards, and generally left everyone behind him in the Astroturf. Now, he's broken another kind of precedent. In a new book and in interviews, he's revealed that he suffers from the mental illness dissociative identity disorder or "DID." Since renamed, the disease was once called multiple personality disorder.

Yesterday, on "Good Morning America" and "Nightline," the legendary footballer talked of how he doesn't remember winning the Heisman Trophy in 1982 and when he eventually came to realize that he has at least a dozen alter egos. "Breaking Free," a memoir recounting his struggles with the disease, will publish later this week.

News of the Hall of Famer's condition has swept the Web. Searches for his name logged a massive gain yesterday, registering today as a breakout mover and maintaining a steady grip on the top hourly searches module in Buzz. By the end of the athlete's media tour on Monday, interest in "dissociative identity disorder" and "multiple personality disorder" had more than doubled.

In Buzz, a slew of popular articles have covered Walker's revelations. A Yahoo! Sports story describing his condition has attracted the most votes. A post from PhillyBurbs.com connects Walker's disease to head trauma in football. "A skeptic has to ask," the Philadelphia blogger writes, "How much of this is actually a lifelong disorder or a result of years of football?"

As for the commonly held perception that DID is "bogus," the ex-Cowboy responds: "That's the reason America is beautiful. Everyone's entitled to their opinion." Walker also says that "he hopes to educate the public and break down stereotypes about this disorder." Judging by Buzz, he's well on his way.

Filed under: NFL, Mental Health