LSU football coach Brian Kelly did not specifically discuss the lawsuit recently filed by disabled former defensive back Greg Brooks Jr. against LSU on Monday, but at least he spoke around it. And that is more than anyone else associated with LSU or its legal defense team working on the detailed medical negligence suit has done publicly, other than a communications employee.
“It’s well known, and we’ve talked about the love that we have, our entire team, for Greg Brooks,” Kelly said at his regular press conference when asked if he had a response to the accusations of medical negligence against his football medical staff in the suit.
The accusations include those toward LSU head athletic trainer Owen Stanley allegedly diagnosing the minor condition of Vertigo for Brooks in August of 2023 after Brooks passed out and later vomited in front of coaches that Aug. 5 and complained of headaches and dizziness. It was discovered five weeks later after LSU finally made an appointment for Brooks with a specialist that he had a cancerous brain tumor.
Brian Kelly Named In Lawsuit Along With Former Assistants Matt House, Kerry Cooks
Kelly is named in the lawsuit along with former defensive assistant coaches Matt House and Kerry Cooks and team doctors Stephen Etheridge, Vincent Shaw and Tony Johnson II. LSU’s Board of Supervisors is also named in the 13-page lawsuit filed last August 2 in East Baton Rouge Parish District Court of the 19th Judicial District. It was first publicized by Yahoo Sports on Friday.
“A leader, beloved by his teammates, and we’ll continue to have that (love),” Kelly said of Brooks, who has been unable to walk or talk clearly since the surgery on Sept. 15, 2023, at Baton Rouge’s Our Lady of the Lake Hospital. That hospital is also named in the lawsuit along with surgeon Brandon Graynor.
Greg Brooks Jr. Has Requested His Surgery Be Investigated by Medical Review Panel
Brooks, a native of the New Orleans area who went to West Jefferson High, was a starting safety at Arkansas from 2019-21. A team captain at LSU, he started 13 games as a safety in 2022 and two in 2023 before the surgery. He has requested that surgery by Graynor be investigated by the Louisiana Division Administration’s Medical Review Panel pursuant to the Louisiana Medical Malpractice Act, the lawsuit says.
“Unfortunately, lawsuits come out in our culture and our society every day,” Kelly continued. “And it is what it is, but it doesn’t change the way we feel about Greg. And our support is going to be there. We hope and pray for only the best for him. But when it comes to lawsuits, our kids, players, coaches, we just really focus on Greg and hope and pray for Greg. He’s the guy that we focus on, and we stay away from anything that has legal ramifications.”
No. 8 LSU (5-1, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) plays at Arkansas (4-2, 2-1 SEC) on Saturday (6 p.m., ESPN).
Kelly and the other LSU employees, or agents of LSU (the team doctors), are referred to as “LSU defendants” throughout the lawsuit. Item 6 says they “had a duty to make protecting student-athletes a priority over winning football games, but instead chose to establish and engage in a pattern of conduct in which winning football games was more important than protecting student-athletes from harm.”
The item goes on to say that, “The LSU defendants have allowed the football program to embrace a ‘next man up’ mentality, where student-athletes are placed at a heightened risk of serious injury and where the interests of the football program are elevated above the individual student-athletes.”
Greg Brooks Jr. Was Told Symptoms Were ‘Not Anything To Worry About’
Item 14 of the lawsuit says, “Greg Brooks Jr. continued to complain about dizziness, nausea and headaches on a daily basis to his coaches and athletic trainers, but they continued to assure him it was not anything to worry about and continued to clear him to practice and even play in games – despite the fact that Brooks was experiencing concerning neurological symptoms.”
Brooks started LSU’s season opener against No. 8 Florida State in Orlando, Florida, on Sept. 3 and made four tackles with a quarterback hurry and broke up two passes. He played the next week on Sept. 9 against Grambling at home, making four tackles. LSU set up a Sept. 13 appointment with a neurologist, who had an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) test done on Sept. 14, which is when the tumor was discovered. Graynor did the surgery at question on Sept. 15 at Our Lady of the Lake hospital.
“Although Greg was given the ‘option’ of sitting out of practice and/or games, he was simultaneously told by the coaching staff that if he chose to sit out, someone else would take his place, such that he may lose his starting position as a safety,” the lawsuit states. “Greg did not want to lose his starting position or his position as a team captain, and thus he continued to believe the LSU defendants assurances that he had nothing to worry about and played through his pain, dizziness and nausea.”
Item 26 mentions Kelly specifically.
“The LSU head football coach, Brian Kelly, and other administrators affiliated with LSU have repeatedly made public comments about (Brooks) and his medical condition in violation of his privacy rights and in an effort to make themselves appear favorable in the public’s eye,” the lawsuit says. “Moreover, they have disseminated false and misleading information about Greg’s health status in making some of these public comments.”
Item 27 likely does not involve Kelly.
“The LSU defendants, through the Tiger Athletic Foundation (athletic department fund raising arm), have also set up the equivalent of a ‘Go Fund Me’ page for Greg, but have refused to transfer ownership and management of this monetary fund to Greg and/or his parents, such that he cannot access the funds,” the lawsuit states. “The LSU defendants instead have maintained control over this fund and have made it difficult for (Brooks) to utilize funds that were raised for his sole benefit at a time when he desperately requires assistance.”
In concluding, the lawsuit states that the “LSU defendants” are financially and legally responsible for the following negligent acts of omission and/or commission, all of which may be shown at trial (And some of these could involve Kelly as a CEO coach):
-Allowing Greg Brooks Jr. to participate in practice and play in games without first being seen by a specialist and without the proper imaging studies (MRIs) having been done to rule out a serious cause of his symptoms.
-Making Greg Brooks Jr. feel like he would lose his starting position and/or his leadership position with the team if he missed a practice or a game because of an injury or illness.
-Creating a culture within the LSU football program that puts winning games over the health and safety of student-athletes by making student-athletes feel that they will lose their starting position or leadership position on the team if they miss a practice or game because of injury or illness.
-Encouraging and/or allowing athletic trainers to use apps on their mobile devices to evaluate student-athletes for potential brain injuries, as opposed to sending student-athletes to the appropriate specialists for appropriate medical work-up.
-Encouraging and/or allowing athletic trainers to diagnose and treat student-athletes without referring them to a team physician for detailed examination.
-Failing to establish policies, rules or guidelines pertaining to the care of student-athletes exhibiting concerning neurological symptoms and failing to train athletic department employees and agents how to respond to student-athletes with such symptoms.
LSU senior associate athletic director/chief communications officer Zach Greenwell told Tiger Rag Friday he could not comment on ongoing litigation but expressed concern for Brooks.
“Greg Brooks Jr. remains in our thoughts and prayers as he continues to work through the rehabilitation process,” Greenwell said. “Since the beginning of our agreement with Our Lady of the Lake, they have provided exceptional medical care for our student-athletes in all our sports.”
The lawsuit is asking for all monetary damages “reasonable in the premises, together with legal interest from the date of judicial demand until paid, or all costs of these proceedings, and for all general and equitable relief to which (Brooks) is entitled as a matter of law.”
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