"Why that kid?": Greg Brooks Jr.'s father makes endearing statement on former LSU safety's health amid lawsuit

Former LSU safety Greg Brooks Jr. has had a tumultuous couple of years. In the 2023 season, he played in two games before undergoing emergency surgery to remove a brain tumor. This surgery ended his college career. Since then, Brooks has experienced numerous post-operative complications and struggles to regain a normal life.

Due to concerns over his medical care, the Brooks family filed a lawsuit against LSU and the hospital involved. They claim his symptoms were mishandled initially and allege malpractice by the surgeon who performed the tumor removal.

In an interview with ABC News' Michael Strahan on Monday, Brooks and his father, Greg Brooks, talked about their side of the story.

"My question was: Why that kid?," Brooks' father asked. "Everything that we want our young men to be, this kid signified that."

Brooks added that he knew almost nothing about his kid's surgery.

"Nothing," he said. "The one call I did receive said, 'You need to get here, your son is having emergency surgery tomorrow.'"

Brooks expressed confidence in his son's care, saying LSU is "one of the best colleges in the United States." This belief led the family to forgo a second opinion. They were informed that emergency surgery was the only option available. Brooks Jr. later shared his feelings about waking up from surgery.

"Honestly, I thought it was fake," he said. "Like, I was in disbelief. Like a nightmare that I couldn’t wake up from."

Greg Brooks Jr. talked about the importance of speaking out about health

Greg Brooks Jr. also had a message for other college athletes.

“I just want young athletes in the same spot I was, if something is hurting, tell them,” Brooks said. “And if they don’t do anything about it, go get your second opinion. If I could have known that, I wouldn’t be the way I am right now.”

In the same interview, the Brooks family indicated that despite the post-operative complications and lawsuit, the family has not heard anything from the LSU coaching staff since late 2023. They called out coach Brian Kelly for not contacting Brooks.