OXFORD, Miss. -- Ole Miss senior quarterback Chad Kelly admitted that he made a bad decision this past weekend when he ran onto the field during a brawl at his brother's high school football game in upstate New York on Friday night.
"If I could've done it differently, I definitely would have. I obviously wouldn't have run out on the field," Kelly said Monday, speaking for the first time since the incident. "I regret doing it. But at the same time, I'm sure any of us, if we saw a family member out there in need of help, we would've come to the rescue too."
According to Kelly's mother, Charlene Kelly, the incident began when the opposing team made a late hit on Chad's younger brother Casey.
The players from the opposing team then began "stomping on him and throwing haymakers," which led to Casey's teammates rushing the field. That's when Chad got involved and ran out on to the field.
Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze defended his quarterback in the immediate aftermath of the incident Friday night and said he would probably do the same thing if it were his family. The two spoke later that night.
"[Kelly] was very apologetic that it brought a bad light on him and our program," Freeze said Monday. "But I think the events that happened could have happened to a lot of us. He knows he cannot continue to do that in his brand change. But that's it. It's over."
Ole Miss will travel to No. 22 Arkansas on Saturday.
"We're looking forward to the next game," Kelly said. "We just have to keep working hard, and I've got to make the right decisions."