Tuning into the TV broadcasts from Saturday to Saturday may have you thinking the college football world is all sunshine and rainbows. But that’s naive, borderline delusional. The pageantry and excitement around the sport smear a layer of glittery sheen on the product. But scratch the surface and look beneath. The reality is lackluster and dull. In fact, it’s often horrifically dark. The ordeal involving former LSU safety Greg Brooks Jr. is a testament to this. For Brooks, this dark reality transpired in the form of alleged negligence on the part of Brian Kelly and his staff. Negligence that has cost him a career and nearly his life.

Greg Brooks Jr. transferred over from Arkansas to LSU in 2023 and was poised to be the starting safety. He was even named a captain by his new head coach, Brian Kelly. But things took a morbidly twisted turn. Brooks would find himself diagnosed with a brain tumor soon thereafter, but not soon enough. See, he and his attorneys have filed a lawsuit against Brian Kelly’s staff, including the LSU medical team, for misdiagnosing his condition and even forcing him to play through his condition. Apparently, Greg Brooks Jr. was a full participant in practice and even played two games while this condition worsened. The lawsuit alleges there were symptoms essentially being shrugged aside. What it also alleges is that when LSU finally did send him to a specialist, they were unqualified to perform the procedure to remove said tumor. The late diagnosis, in tandem with this, almost proved fatal.

Brooks Jr. suffered “multiple strokes” during surgery, as per the lawsuit. The procedure left him with “catastrophic neurological surgeries.” This isn’t an allegation; it’s the very unfortunate truth. Brooks Jr. had to learn how to write and speak again, but he’s still got some way to go. He’s still confined to a wheelchair and can’t walk. But this hasn’t broken his spirit. An inspirational Greg Brooks Jr., alongside his father, Brooks Sr., appeared on “The Pivot Podcast” with Ryan Clark. Despite his physical and cognitive struggles, Brooks Jr. pieced together a narrative of how the timeline of these tragic events unfolded. But while he didn’t seem to hold any grudges, which even brought retired NFL vet Clark to tears, his father does have a gripe with Brian Kelly. Not merely because of what caused his son’s peril but also because of Kelly’s support, or lack thereof, in the aftermath.

Earlier this year, Greg Brooks Sr. did an interview with Michael Strahan. During its course, he made some very scathing remarks about Brian Kelly. At the crux of these remarks was that Kelly didn’t bother to follow up with the suffering Brooks Jr or the family in the backwash of his botched surgery. Coach Kelly actually addressed these accusations. He spoke about how he had met with Brooks Jr. at the hospital and how the father’s remarks were fallacious. “Here’s what I can tell you: It is factually incorrect to state that I was not there by Greg’s side through this ordeal on multiple occasions,” said Kelly. Now, Ryan Clark asked Brooks Sr. to clear the air about whether Kelly did or didn’t stand up and support his player through life-threatening turmoil. Right off the bat, Brooks Sr. said Kelly’s statement “was a lie.” He proceeded to elaborate.

“Look at the phone records. This man has never called us,” said Greg Brooks Sr. “As a head coach, you named this kid a team captain. H–l, we don’t care what he was. He could have been at the bottom. [Brian Kelly] never called us. Why I gotta prove this?… I’m telling you because [Brooks Jr.’s] mom doesn’t know what he sounds like.” Ryan Clark actually offered some pushback for this. He mentioned how he saw Coach Kelly at the hospital when he himself visited. But Sr. reiterated how the problem had been going since October 2023, and Brian Kelly has never once called to check up on Brooks. Sr. even said he had to visit LSU to ask why nobody was visiting his son in the hospital. He implied that it was only after that Kelly and his subordinates showed up. Two days passed between the surgery and their arrival.

Greg Brooks Sr.’s issue with Brian Kelly, in particular, isn’t about his involvement with what happened to his son. It’s with his detachment from the situation afterward. “Unacceptable. He should have been the first person that called that kid and told him he loved him,” said Sr. You can understand the frustration of the father in this situation. For a kid going through what he was going through, every bit of support was crucial. The same goes for the family, who needed reassurance the head coach has their back. Ryan Clark did mention how Brian Kelly’s professional coaching duties may have been a hindrance. However, Greg Brooks Sr. doesn’t think that’s a good enough excuse. “You can’t pick up the phone and call this kid and check on this kid? You can’t do that? I heard from every coach in college football except our own,” he said.

If there’s any silver lining from this, it’s the fact that Greg Brooks Jr. is taking huge strides in his recovery. During the pod, he also addressed a few things as best he was able to. As aforementioned, his speech and cognition aren’t 100% back. But he battled through to give a gut-wrenching account of everything that happened.

Greg Brooks Jr. doesn’t hold Brian Kelly accountable, but that’s secondary to his struggles

Amongst other things, Ryan Clark asked Greg Brooks Jr. about the initial stages when the tumor came about. It was a period when he shouldn’t have been anywhere near a football field, but begrudgingly, he was due to his misdiagnosis. “How hard was it to play when you were sick?” asked Clark.

“It was hard, I’m not gonna lie. Because I was doing stuff that I normally don’t…like, ‘Man, I can do that. Why am I struggling with that?’ I would try to make a tackle, and I would get up feeling dizzy. And I’m like, ‘That’s not right.’ It was just on and on, different stuff like that that would leave me [thinking], ‘Huh? No, there’s something not right,” said Greg Brooks Jr. It’s a travesty how he was playing through something that would render most people powerless. At the same time, it speaks to his mettle and character. Which are being tested every day, but he’s not deterred.

It gets thrown around too often and sounds cliché. But Greg Brooks Jr. epitomizes the word “inspirational.” Ryan Clark burst into tears after Brooks left the room, but his smile didn’t allow it to happen while he was there. Hopefully, he can make a full recovery and live a pleasant rest of his life. At the same time, you’d hope he and the family can find solace in the lawsuit against LSU with a fair resolution, whatever that may be. As for Brian Kelly, it remains to be seen whether he once again addresses why it was that he was and has remained relatively distant.