Penn State coach James Franklin said he should not have walked away from reporters who asked questions earlier this week about former players accused of rape.
Franklin declined to answer questions from reporters seeking comment after Jameial Lyons and Kaveion Keys were both charged with rape and other charges for allegedly sexually assaulting a 17-year-old woman over the summer. The two players, both 19, are no longer enrolled at Penn State.
The alleged incident took place on July 7 at the on-campus apartment the players shared. Before they were removed from the team, they had been suspended for what the school had called a “personal matter.”
“The first thing I want to say is I want to apologize. I didn’t handle Wednesday properly,” Franklin said after Penn State’s 28-13 win over Wisconsin. “Difficult, difficult situation. And I have to admit that I didn’t do that well. I understand that you have work to do and that you need to ask those questions, and I respect that. The university has made a statement and the reality, I think, is that I can’t say much more than that statement. It is an ongoing legal situation. And it is challenging. It’s a challenge for everyone. Ultimately, I did not do a good job of handling that situation and representing this program properly, so I want to take a moment to apologize for that and understand that you have a job to do.
Rather than simply decline comment on the allegations facing Lyons and Keys, Franklin twice stepped away from a post-practice media crowd Wednesday when asked about the former players. As Franklin stood awkwardly off to the side, a Penn State media relations staffer read a statement from the school.
Franklin’s handling of the situation can be seen as a lesson in what not to do when asked to comment on a sensitive issue. If he had stood in place and said he could not comment further on the allegations, his actions and words would not have become an additional story. Instead, the way he walked away worsened the situation and resulted in an apology days later.
Penn State’s win on Saturday night pushed the No. 3 Nittany Lions to 7-0 ahead of a huge game against Ohio State in Week 10. The win came when QB Drew Allar missed the second half with an apparent knee injury. Franklin did not go into details about Allan’s injury after the game, saying Allar told Franklin he did not feel ready to play after suffering the injury late in the second quarter.
Allar was replaced by backup Beau Pribula. Allar was 14 of 18 for 148 yards and a touchdown before leaving the game, while Pribula was 11 of 13 for 98 yards and a touchdown as Penn State rushed 35 times for 173 yards.