BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — LSU coach Brian Kelly on Wednesday rebutted claims made on national television that he showed minimal interest in Greg Brooks Jr.'s well-being after the defensive back's football career was cut short by emergency surgery to remove a brain tumor.

“You can question me as a football coach. You can question me in terms of the things that we do on the field. But off the field, as a parent, as a husband, as somebody that is actively involved in every community that I’ve been involved with, this is where the line is drawn with me," Kelly said during a news conference in which he was scheduled to discuss transfer players.

“That comment struck a nerve with me,” Kelly continued. “It hit my heart.”

Kelly was responding to a comment made by Brooks' father on ABC's “Good Morning America” on Monday.

“My son almost lost his life, coach,” Greg Brooks Sr. said, claiming his family had not heard from Kelly since October 2023. “Where were you? Forget about football. Pick up the phone and say you love the kid, man.”

Brooks is suing LSU, alleging that the university was slow to have his symptoms checked out and then allowed an unqualified physician to perform brain surgery in September 2023, shortly after he was diagnosed medulloblastoma.

Brooks suffered multiple strokes during the operation, according to the lawsuit, has had to learn how to eat and write again, still has difficulty speaking and still cannot walk.

Brooks first exhibited symptoms during a preseason practice, the lawsuit said, including nausea, dizziness and headaches. The lawsuit also alleges that LSU coaches pressured Brooks to play in LSU's first two games that season, telling him he could lose his starting spot if he sat out.

More than a month after he first experienced symptoms, LSU sent Brooks to a neurologist who discovered the tumor, the lawsuit said.

“It is factually incorrect to state that I was not there by Greg’s side through this ordeal," Kelly said. "I was there on multiple occasions. We had somebody from my staff that was there virtually every single day.

“We love Greg," Kelly continued. “We love him for the person that he is, for the competitor that he is and the battler that he is and can only wish him continued progress as he goes through an incredibly difficult time. But it was important for me to set the record clear as to my care or my love for Greg.”

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