Braylon Edwards, the former NFL star wide receiver who was hailed as a hero for intervening as an elderly man was attacked at a Michigan YMCA this month, said Monday he wanted to act instead of just recording a video for social media.
Edwards appeared on OutKick’s "Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich" and explained he wanted to do something other than take a video of the incident.
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"We live in this era now where everybody’s recording, everybody’s watching the situation take place, and it really gets on my nerves. … So, to get to be in that situation where I had the chance to act and [that] I could be [doing] exactly what I said I want other people to do, I think that also played into it," he told Dakich.
"The people that watch are a lot of [times] worse than the people that [are] actually doing whatever action it is because you have an obligation or chance to help a situation maybe not even be as bad of a situation as it turns into. … Given the opportunity, I wasn’t going to watch."
Malik Ali Smith, 20, was charged with assault with intent to murder in the melee involving an 80-year-old man, according to arrest records.
The charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted, Fox 2 Detroit reported.
Smith allegedly fled the YMCA, but police arrested him nearby. They made note of the Good Samaritan in Edwards.
"This was a vicious, senseless attack," Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said last week, per Fox 2 Detroit. "I commend the witness who intervened, and we will seek justice for this victim."
Fox News’ Scott Thompson contributed to this report.
