Tag: Kelly

Father of ex-LSU star left disabled after brain tumor surgery says he hasn’t heard from Brian Kelly, school

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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February 5, 2025
Small Business Administration nominee Kelly Loeffler says small biz is in her DNA

FOX Business host Larry Kudlow discusses President Donald Trump’s desire to end wars and create a strong economy on ‘Kudlow.’

Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia, President Donald Trump’s pick for Small Business Administration (SBA) administrator, plans to go before the Senate’s Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee on Wednesday, when she plans to speak about Trump’s vision for the country, as well as what qualifies her for the job.

In a copy of her written remarks obtained by FOX Business, Loeffler speaks about her roots growing up as the fourth generation on her family’s farm in Illinois, adding that “small business” is in her “DNA.”

“My wonderful parents, Don and Lynda, didn’t have degrees, but they had faith and grit,” she wrote. “They worked relentlessly to sustain our farm and small trucking company – risking everything to provide for us while navigating volatile commodity markets and complex regulations and facing countless day-to-day challenges.

“It’s where my Midwestern work ethic was ingrained, working in our soybean fields and waiting tables at local restaurants – preparing me for a lifetime of starting and growing businesses,” she continued. “I became the first in my family to graduate college and later earned my MBA.”

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Former U.S. Sen., Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., is President Donald Trump’s nominee to be administrator of the Small Business Administration. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images / Getty Images)

After college, Loeffler helped grow a startup into a Fortune 500 company, and for 10 years, she co-owned the Atlanta Dream of the WNBA. She also wrote that she launched a financial technology company, Bakkt, as the founding CEO and first employee.

“I recall managing budgets in Excel spreadsheets, hiring my first team member, and working with regulators as much as I recall ringing the bell when two of those companies went public,” Loeffler wrote.

Later in her statement, Loeffler talks about how she plans to leverage her decades of business experience to champion America’s entrepreneurs.

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Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler campaigns in Milton, Georgia, in 2022. (Jessica McGowan/Getty Images / Getty Images)

“We’ll cut red tape and modernize the agency while restoring the accountability and transparency that taxpayers deserve,” she wrote. “I will crack down on fraud, with a zero-tolerance policy, while shifting SBA’s focus from Washington D.C. back to Main Streets across America. And if confirmed, I’ll collaborate across government and the private sector to deliver efficiency and results. Importantly – we will responsibly and urgently meet the challenge of disaster relief. I am committed to serving all who are impacted, from North Carolina to California to Hawaii.

“Each taxpayer dollar entrusted to SBA should have an economic multiplier effect – delivering productive capital to grow manufacturing, strengthen rural communities, create jobs, and develop critical technology like AI and chips,” Loeffler added. “I believe we must continue to empower entrepreneurs from all walks of life, including women and veterans.”

Loeffler is part of a team that Trump is putting together that aims to put “America first.”

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President Donald Trump arrives with Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., at a campaign rally in 2021. (Alex Wong/Getty Images / Getty Images)

She wrote about the SBA’s founding mission of empowering small businesses and growing the economy, needing to be restored.

“That’s exactly what the America First agenda does – by ending inflation, cutting taxes, unleashing American energy dominance, slashing regulation, and reining in fraud, waste, and abuse across government,” she wrote. “In the last four years, small business has lost ground – burdened by inflation, big government regulation, and uncertainty that threatens the very existence of Main Street. President Trump’s proven agenda will restore the small business economy, marking a return to ‘Made in America’ – with a golden era of prosperity and growth.”

Loeffler and her husband Jeff have long been major donors to Republican causes and candidates, including Trump. Loeffler served as co-chair of Trump’s inaugural committee.

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If confirmed by the Senate, Loeffler says she would donate her annual federal pay of approximately $207,500 to charity.

The pledge by Loeffler, whose net worth is estimated at roughly $1 billion, follows her actions in Congress from 2019 to 2021, when she donated her Senate salary of $174,000 per year to over 40 Georgia charities and nonprofits.

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

January 29, 2025