Lomas Brown says he regrets incident that led to teammate’s injury

Former Detroit Lions tackle Lomas Brown says he regrets the incident in 1994 when he intentionally missed a block to get his own quarterback, Scott Mitchell, hurt badly enough that he would be forced to leave the game.

Brown made the startling admission in an ESPN radio interview last week, sparking a controversy that had Mitchell calling Brown “reprehensible.”

“I know I played well over 18,000 plays … in this league,” Brown said this week on ESPN’s “First Take.” “It’s one play out of the 18,000 that I regret. It’s done, it’s out there. I’m not going to retract, I’m not going to sit here and make excuses. I know America is looking at me, and they’re like, ‘Wow,’ but I’m not going to make excuses.

“You get frustrated during the course of the game. You do things that, a lot of the time, you think about later in life -- you don’t think about right there, because it’s in the heat of the moment.”

Mitchell told CBSSports.com that the revelation from Brown “really killed me.” On the play in question, Mitchell suffered a broken hand when he was hit by Green Bay’s Sean Jones.

“I don’t think a player could say or do something to a teammate that’s worse than that,” the quarterback told the website of Brown’s confession. “It’s really despicable. Quite frankly, I haven’t stopped thinking about it. I’m not sure when I’ll stop thinking about it.

“It’s a massive betrayal. It’s total [expletive]. I don’t know how Lomas can ever look himself in the mirror again. I had Lomas Brown in my house. I would have parties for the players. I’d have the best food, I’d treat everyone well. I’d get gifts for the linemen, including Lomas. He was one way to my face and another way behind my back.”

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