John Driskell Hopkins Turns a Ballpark Stage Into a Platform for ALS Hope
For John Driskell Hopkins, the stage has long been a place of performance. As “Hop,” the longtime Zac Brown Band musician has spent years in front of country music crowds, singing, playing and helping shape the band’s rich live sound. But at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, his voice carried a different kind of weight.
- A Musician Known as “Hop” Faces a Life-Changing Diagnosis
- A Night of Baseball, Music and Shared Resilience
- Hop On A Cure and the Push for ALS Research
- Hannah Broermann’s First Pitch Becomes One of the Night’s Defining Moments
- Why Lou Gehrig Day Matters Beyond the Ballpark
- Hopkins’ Anthem Closes the Day With Purpose
- A Story of Music, Mortality and Momentum
On June 2, 2026, Hopkins joined the Cincinnati Reds’ Lou Gehrig Day celebration, an annual Major League Baseball observance dedicated to honoring people affected by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. MLB observes Lou Gehrig Day across all 30 clubs on June 2, a date tied both to Gehrig’s legendary “Iron Horse” streak beginning in 1925 and to his death from ALS complications 16 years later.
The evening blended baseball, music, remembrance and advocacy. Hopkins performed for people living with ALS and their families before the game, joined the Reds broadcast to discuss his battle with the disease, and later sang the national anthem before the Reds game against the Kansas City Royals.
It was more than a celebrity appearance. It was a public act of resilience from a musician who has turned a life-altering diagnosis into a mission.
A Musician Known as “Hop” Faces a Life-Changing Diagnosis
John Driskell Hopkins is widely known as a member of the Zac Brown Band, the Grammy-winning country group whose music has reached audiences far beyond traditional country radio. To fans, he is “Hop,” a familiar presence onstage and a key part of the band’s musical identity.
In December 2021, Hopkins was diagnosed with ALS. The disease is progressive and currently has no cure. Earlier coverage of his diagnosis noted that he had experienced symptoms such as stiffness and balance issues before publicly sharing the news, while also expressing hope that his symptoms would continue to progress slowly.
By 2026, Hopkins’ story had become one of endurance. The provided source information describes him as a 54-year-old country music star who was told he had “2-to-5 years to live” after the diagnosis. Yet he remains active, visible and determined, continuing to tour, perform and advocate for ALS research.
That persistence is part of what made his appearance in Cincinnati so meaningful. Lou Gehrig Day is built around awareness, but Hopkins brought a living, personal voice to the cause.
A Night of Baseball, Music and Shared Resilience
The Cincinnati Reds’ Lou Gehrig Day event brought together people living with ALS, families, advocates and fans at Great American Ball Park. Before the game, Hopkins performed an intimate concert outside the ballpark for ALS patients and their loved ones.
His message to the crowd was direct and deeply personal.
“I am so very proud of each and every one of you that doesn’t give up,” Hopkins told the crowd.
That line captured the emotional center of the day. Hopkins was not only performing for an audience; he was speaking to people who understood the daily reality of ALS in a way most others cannot.
He also used humor and gratitude to describe his own condition.
“My breathing is good, I obviously have my appetite,” Hopkins joked. “And I’m too blessed to be depressed.”
Those words carried the tone that has defined much of Hopkins’ public ALS journey: candid, realistic, but unwilling to surrender the emotional ground to despair.
Hop On A Cure and the Push for ALS Research
After his diagnosis, Hopkins helped create Hop On A Cure, a foundation focused on raising money and awareness for ALS research. The organization’s mission is rooted in the belief that research funding can accelerate progress toward treatments and, ultimately, a cure. Its official messaging says ALS research is underfunded and calls for support to “accelerate promising research, find a cure, and put an end to ALS once and for all.”
According to the provided information, Hopkins said Hop on a Cure has helped raise more than $5 million for ALS research in the past year alone. That figure shows how his platform has grown beyond music and into philanthropy, advocacy and community mobilization.
The Reds’ event also included broader ALS organizations and partners. The Reds recognized groups including the Lou Gehrig Day Committee, the Central & Southern Ohio Chapter of the ALS Association, the Muscular Dystrophy Association and I AM ALS. A postgame ceremony included Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson and pitcher Graham Ashcraft presenting a $125,000 check to Hop On A Cure.
For Hopkins, the cause is inseparable from the music. Every performance becomes an opportunity to keep ALS in public view.
Hannah Broermann’s First Pitch Becomes One of the Night’s Defining Moments
Hopkins was not the only person whose story shaped the Reds’ Lou Gehrig Day celebration. The event also highlighted Hannah Broermann, a 27-year-old woman from Okeana who was diagnosed with ALS last year.
Broermann and her husband, Logan, are longtime Zac Brown Band fans, making her meeting with Hopkins especially emotional.
“We love him and the Zac Brown Band,” Broermann said. “They were our first dance song at our wedding, and we’ve seen them here in concert. So it was awesome.”
Later, Broermann took the field for a ceremonial first pitch. With her family helping her out of her wheelchair and Logan waiting behind home plate, she threw out the pitch in front of the crowd.
For Broermann, the moment was not only about baseball. It was about being carried by a support system that has refused to let her face ALS alone.
“They’re the type of family who, as soon as we called them to let them know what was going on today, they were like, ‘Alright, where do we buy tickets? What’s the plan?’” Broermann said. “No questions asked. I know they’re going to be there.”
Her story gave the event a local, human center. Hopkins brought national visibility, but Broermann’s first pitch reminded the crowd that ALS affects families in communities everywhere.
A “Hope for Hannah” Benefit is scheduled for July 18 at Badin High School to support Broermann and her family as they navigate ALS.
Why Lou Gehrig Day Matters Beyond the Ballpark
Lou Gehrig Day has become one of baseball’s most significant awareness events because it connects the sport’s history to a continuing medical and human challenge. Gehrig’s name remains permanently linked with ALS, but the day is not simply about remembering a legendary Yankee. It is about confronting a disease that still has no cure.
For people living with ALS, events like this can provide visibility, solidarity and practical fundraising momentum. For families, they offer a public reminder that their private struggles are seen. For organizations, they create a platform to bring attention to research needs and patient support.
The Cincinnati event showed how sports and music can combine to expand that message. A baseball stadium became a gathering place for advocacy. A musician’s national anthem became a statement of survival. A ceremonial first pitch became a family’s public act of courage.
Hopkins’ Anthem Closes the Day With Purpose
The night ended with Hopkins singing the national anthem before the Reds game. MLB’s own video listing described the moment as “John Driskell ‘Hop’ Hopkins of the Zac Brown band” singing before the Reds game, while another MLB clip featured Hopkins discussing his battle with ALS during the Reds broadcast.
The anthem was a fitting close to the day. Hopkins had already performed privately for ALS families, spoken publicly about the disease and helped bring attention to Hop On A Cure. Singing the anthem placed him at the center of the ballpark’s attention, but the larger focus remained on the ALS community.
For Hopkins, continuing to sing carries symbolic meaning. Ahead of the Reds’ Lou Gehrig Day recognition, he said, “As long as I’m able to keep doing that, I will. I like to say, as long as I’m singing it, I’m bringing it.”
That phrase reflects the essence of his public journey. He is still performing, still advocating and still using his voice while he can.
A Story of Music, Mortality and Momentum
John Driskell Hopkins’ story is powerful because it resists a simple narrative. It is not only about a country musician diagnosed with ALS. It is also about what happens when a public figure chooses to turn personal hardship into collective action.
His appearance at Great American Ball Park showed how advocacy can work at a human scale: a song before a game, a conversation with families, a foundation raising money, a young woman throwing a first pitch, a community gathering around people who need to know they are not alone.
There is still no cure for ALS. That fact gives the work urgency. But Hopkins’ presence in Cincinnati also showed why awareness matters. Every public moment can bring new attention, new donations, new conversations and new pressure to accelerate research.
For fans, John Driskell Hopkins remains “Hop” from Zac Brown Band. For the ALS community, he has become something more: a visible fighter, a fundraiser, a witness and a reminder that hope can still be active, loud and deeply human.
