Ex-NFL star Braylon Edwards says he wanted to act instead of record video in YMCA incident

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.

“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.”

SAQUON BARKLEY BARKS BACK AT TIKI BARBER AFTER ‘DEAD TO ME’ COMMENTS FOLLOWING EAGLES DEAL: ‘YOU BEEN A HATER’

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.