A year and a half ago, Greg Brooks Jr. was a potential NFL prospect, captaining LSU’s football team. Today, he is wheelchair bound and hardly able to speak.
In September 2023, Brooks said he was feeling dizzy and vomited at practice. He said the team diagnosed him with vertigo, but the symptoms never subsided.
It was not until over a month later that Brooks was diagnosed with a brain tumor and underwent emergency surgery.
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LSU Tigers safety Greg Brooks Jr., #3, during the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl between the LSU Tigers and the Purdue Boilermakers on Jan. 2, 2023 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. (David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
However, during the surgery, Brooks said he suffered from several strokes, and he is now relearning to eat, walk and write because of the operation.
“He’s at LSU, one of the best colleges in the United States. Would I have ever thought that his best interests wouldn’t be at heart? No,” Brooks’ father, Greg Sr., said in a recent interview with “Good Morning America.”
“Honestly, I thought it was fake. Like, I was in disbelief. Like a nightmare that I couldn’t wake up from,” “Little Greg” said.
However, Greg Sr. added that he has not heard from anyone at the school, “specifically [head coach] Brian Kelly,” since October 2023, around the time when Little Greg was diagnosed.
“My son almost lost his life, Coach. Where were you? Forget about football. Pick up the phone and say you love the kid, man,” Greg Sr. said.
LSU Tigers safety Greg Brooks Jr., #3, celebrates with teammates Jay Ward, #5, and West Weeks, #33, after intercepting a pass against the Purdue Boilermakers during the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on Jan. 2, 2023 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. (Russell Lansford/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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The Brooks family filed a lawsuit against LSU last August for negligence, saying the school did not handle the situation properly, nor were doctors who operated on Brooks Jr. qualified to do so.
The suit also alleged LSU staff told Brooks to play football despite feeling sick, and they threatened to take his starting spot away if he did not.
“Greg will likely need care for the rest of his life for the injuries he sustained as a result of his providers’ malpractice,” the lawsuit says. “Obviously, Greg will also never be able to play football again, and he will likely never be able to work and/or care for himself without the assistance of others.”
LSU set up a donation fund at the time, but the suit says the funds were never transferred.
Brooks’ lawsuit names Our Lady of the Lake Hospital, where he had his surgery, as a defendant.
“Due to patient privacy laws and pending litigation, we can’t comment on specific individuals or situations,” the hospital said in a statement at the time. “The neurosurgical team at Our Lady of the Lake is among the most experienced in Louisiana and they give our patients the best opportunity for a positive outcome in any circumstance.”
“While LSU cannot comment on ongoing litigation, Greg Brooks remains in our thoughts and prayers as he continues to work through the rehabilitation process,” the university said last October.
Fox News Digital reached out to LSU for comment but has not heard back.
LSU Tigers safety Greg Brooks Jr., #3, intercepts the ball against the Purdue Boilermakers during the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on Jan. 2, 2023 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. (Russell Lansford/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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He played in LSU’s first two games of the 2023 season after suiting up in all of LSU’s 14 games in 2022. The Tigers lost the SEC title to Georgia in 2022 but won the Citrus Bowl over Purdue. Brooks had a career-high 66 tackles in 2022.
Brooks transferred to LSU after the 2021 season after spending three seasons at the University of Arkansas. If all went as originally hoped, he’d likely have just wrapped up his NFL rookie season.
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