Greg Brooks attorneys rebuke Brian Kelly after recent comments

Attorneys representing former LSU football player Greg Brooks react to comments made by head coach Brian Kelly about the ex-captain and his cancer battle.

Lawyers representing former LSU football player Greg Brooks, Jr. were not pleased with Brian Kelly's recent comments. / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The situation between Greg Brooks, Jr., the LSU football program, and head coach Brian Kelly has taken another turn as the ex-player’s family has responded to remarks made by the Tigers coach.

One day after Kelly denied cutting off contact Brooks during the latter’s fight with brain cancer, attorneys for the ex-LSU captain have responded.

“It was difficult for Greg Brooks, Jr. to listen to LSU Coach Brian Kelly say he was by his side through this ordeal and then accuse his father of making a false statement when the reality is that Coach Kelly has not contacted Greg Jr. in over 16 months,” Brooks’ attorneys said in a statement.

“Neither Coach Kelly nor LSU has denied what Greg’s father said during the GMA interview: that Greg has not heard from Coach Kelly since October 2023, long before the lawsuit was filed.

“LSU and Coach Kelly cannot deny this because it is true. Ironically, it was Coach Kelly who made factually inaccurate statements in March of 2024 when he told the media that Greg was walking, which obviously was not true. Coach Kelly would have known that had he simply picked up the phone and called.

“Greg Jr. looks forward to having his day in court, where the truth will come to light, and in the meantime, he will be focusing on his health and recovery.”

Kelly’s remarks came shortly after Brooks’ family told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that they haven’t heard from anyone in the LSU football program since the fall of 2023.

More ... Brian Kelly denies abandoning Greg Brooks during cancer fight

Brooks sued the school and a Louisiana hospital for alleged negligence in their treatment of the brain tumor that ended his football career.

Brooks was forced to undergo emergency surgery to remove a tumor that arose from a rare form of brain cancer known as medulloblastoma.

Brooks Jr.’s lawsuit alleges that he fainted during a football practice and then vomited in front of his coaches and trainers minutes later.

The suit also contends that an LSU trainer told Brooks, Jr. that he had vertigo and cleared him to return to practice shortly after.

The ex-player also claimed that he was told by the LSU coaching staff that he might lose his starting position if he didn’t take part in practice as he dealt with the symptoms.

LSU made an appointment for Brooks with the neurologist who discovered the brain tumor 39 days after his first symptoms, the family says.

Brooks’ father says he wasn’t told of his son’s grave condition until it was obvious that the player would require emergency surgery.

Brooks, Jr. began his college football career at Arkansas from 2019 to 2021 before he transferred to LSU in 2022 and emerged as a key contributor on the Tigers’ defense.

He played in two games during the 2023 season before his brain tumor was found.

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