Bo Jackson Says He's Had Hiccups for a Year, Plans to Undergo Medical Procedure

Former NFL and MLB star Bo Jackson is planning to undergo a procedure to stop the chronic hiccups he’s been suffering from since July 2022.

Jackson detailed the experience during a recent appearance on the WJOX-FM show McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning. He explained that he missed Frank Thomas statue dedication in April as a result of the chronic hiccups.

"I wasn't [at the ceremony] because of dealing with hiccups," said the 60-year-old, who remains the only professional athlete to be named an All-Star in both the NFL and the MLB. "I've had the hiccups since last July. I'm getting a medical procedure done [at] the end of this week, I think, to try to remedy it. I've been busy sitting at the doctor's poking me, shining lights down my throat, probing me every way they can to find out why I've got these hiccups. That's the only reason I wasn't there."

So far doctors have been unable to determine what caused his condition or diagnose a cure. "I have done everything—scare me, hang upside down, drink water, smell the ass of a porcupine," Jackson added. "It doesn't work."

Jackson played in both the NFL and the MLB simultaneously from 1987 to 1991. He made his major league baseball debut in 1986 with the Kansas City Royals, where he was named an All-Star in 1989. He later retired in 1994. Meanwhile, Jackson’s NFL career was shorter-lived. He played for the Los Angeles Raiders for four seasons and was named an AFC Pro Bowl reserve player in 1990. He retired from the NFL in 1991 following a career-ending hip injury.