Brooks returns as mother improves

[Gunzlingr]

LAKE BUENA VISTA - Derrick Brooks, the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year, returned to training camp Wednesday and looked nothing like a guy who had been away from the team for eight days.

July 29, as the Bucs got ready to board a plane for Japan, Brooks left for Pensacola to be with his mother, Geraldine Mitchell, who was in poor health.

Brooks said his mother did not have a heart attack as reported in the St. Petersburg Times.

"(She's doing) a lot better," Brooks said. "I don't want to get into specifics about it. I thank everybody for their prayers and concerns about my family. Just to let everybody know she's getting better and hopefully everything will be all right in the near future."

Brooks, 30, said that not being in Tokyo with the team was not ideal but was unavoidable.

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Bucs Cheered Up By Brooks' Return

LAKE BUENA VISTA - Bucs players began cheering first as the straggler jogged onto the practice field Wednesday morning.
Before the latecomer reached the 50-yard line, DT Warren Sapp stood and applauded. Defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin raised both arms in celebration. Derrick Brooks, a few minutes late for his first practice in nine days, grinned as he rejoined his teammates.

When the team traveled to Tokyo on July 29 for a preseason game against the Jets, Brooks stayed behind to be with his ailing mother, Geraldine Mitchell, in Pensacola. Brooks never divulged his mother's illness, but he said Wednesday her condition has improved.

``She's a lot better. I don't want to get into specifics about it,'' Brooks said. ``I just want to thank everybody for their prayers and concerns about my family. I just want everybody to know she's getting better, and hopefully everything will be all right in the near future.''

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Brooks grateful to fans and teammates

LB Derrick Brooks didn't intend to take the field later than the rest of his Tampa Bay teammates, but his tardiness made for a nice reception from the fans on hand for Wednesday morning's workout at Disney's Wide World of Sports.

"I was hoping to make it out with the rest of the team, but that was nice," said Brooks, the NFL's 2002 Defensive Player of the Year. "My family and I appreciate the support of the fans and realizing that in times like these families come together."

Brooks had been away from his teammates for a week. While the Bucs went to Japan to play the New York Jets in the American Bowl, Brooks stayed behind to tend to his ill mother in Pensacola. He declined to discuss specifics of her condition

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