On January 6, 2022, Razorback fans received the news that the second starting defensive back, Greg Brooks Jr., would enter the transfer portal only one day after team captain Joe Foucha left the team. Both ended up playing for their home state team and Arkansas rival, LSU.
While now it's normal to see players fans have grown to love leave at their prime, in 2022, it was a relatively new phenomenon. Hog fans were hurt. But could you blame them for wanting to live out their childhood dreams? Unfortunately for Brooks, his dream would end early.
After spending a season with the Tigers, Brooks was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer called medulloblastoma. He was brought in almost immediately for surgery to remove the brain tumor and suffered strokes while on the operating table, which left him disabled. Now, he's speaking out about his experience and the pending lawsuit against Louisiana State University.
Greg Brooks Jr. breaks his silence
In an exclusive interview on ABC News, Brooks Jr. and his father, Greg Brooks Sr., sat down with former NFL defensive lineman and current host of Good Morning America, Michael Strahan, to talk publicly about the surgery and Brooks Jr.'s struggles.
The aftermath of Brooks' surgery
"I honestly thought it was fake. I was in disbelief...like a nightmare that I couldn't wake up from," said Brooks Jr. about coming out of surgery. In the lawsuit against LSU and Our Lady of the Lake Medical Center in Baton Rouge, La., Brooks Jr. claims he wasn't taken to a neurologist by the Tigers' training staff 39 days after the symptoms started. Instead, he was diagnosed with Vertigo and returned to practice.
When Strahan asked how much he knew about his son's condition prior to his surgery, Brooks Sr. explained that he wasn't aware of anything until the call about his emergency surgery. "Nothing," Brooks Sr. said about the communication from LSU, "[The] one call that I received was, 'I need you to get here. Your son is having emergency surgery tomorrow."
He continued, "He's at LSU, one of the best colleges in the United States. Would I have ever thought his best interests wouldn't be at heart?"
Thankfully, after radiation and chemotherapy, Brooks Jr. is cancer-free. Unfortunately, he remains disabled. During the surgery, Brooks Jr. "suffered multiple strokes and was left with severe and permanent injuries." The Brooks family claims that the surgeon wasn't qualified to perform the operation on Brooks Jr., which left him in his current condition. "The disease is not the issue. This is the aftermath of injury from surgery," said Brooks Sr.
Finding inspiration
Like Brooks Jr., Strahan's daughter Isabella was also diagnosed with medulloblastoma a month after him. While choking up, Brooks Sr. said to Strahan, My heart went out to you, man...When I seen her come and I seen her walk, I said, 'That's not my son.' [It] probably should be."
He continued, "He wasn't speaking. He wasn't responding, He wasn't doing anything. I was torn. I was."
On the other hand, Brooks Jr. found solace in Isabella's guidance. "Somebody at least knows what I went through," said Brooks Jr. "We use her for advice on what to do next."
Unlike Brooks Jr., Isabella Strahan made it through her surgery relatively without issue. "He obviously didn't go into his surgery thinking he'd end up the way he did. I'm very fortunate that mine went so well," Isabella said.
While Brooks Jr. might look up to her for inspiration, Isabella explains why he's that person for her. "[He] just had to work so hard just to make a little progress. It's frustrating. It's inspiring. He's my biggest inspiration, I think."
No Brian Kelly?
The lawsuit also mentions LSU, but Brooks Jr.'s father has a much more personal problem with the football staff. When Strahan asked Brooks Sr. if the family had been contacted by anyone on the LSU coaching staff, he answered with a resounding "no." Brooks Sr. said, "Specifically, Brian Kelly. My son almost lost his life, Coach. Where were you? Forget about football. Pick up the phone and say you love the kid, man."
While Our Lady of the Lake Medical Center and LSU wouldn't comment on the open litigation, Kelly did chime in on Brooks Sr.'s comments, expressing that it "struck a nerve" with him.
"You can question me as a football coach, you can question me with things we do on the field but off the field, as a parent, a husband, as someone who is actively involved in every community that I've been involved with, this is where I draw the line for me. That comment struck a nerve with me," said Kelly.
Kelly contradicts the Brooks family's claim, stating he met with the former Razorback/Tiger multiple times. "There's many things I can't say because it is pending litigation but 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," Kelly said. He even stated that at least one member of his staff was there virtually every single day.
He finished, saying, "It was important for me to set the record clear as to my care and my love for Greg Jr. during this very difficult time. Any player that is a part of this program, I am going to be involved in making sure they receive the best care, the best support and I'm part of that."
However, when Strahan asked him why he's speaking out now, Brooks Jr.'s message wasn't one of resentment or anger, but one of caution. "I want [to tell] young athletes in the same spot I was in, 'if something is hurting, tell them. And if they don't do nothing about it, go get your second opinion. Because if I would have known that, I wouldn't be the way I am right now."