James Franklin apologizes over handling of questions about ex-players charged with rape
James Franklin had already answered what Penn State's media relations staff said would be the last question of his postgame news conference, but before he left, he had one more thing he wanted to address.
Following his team’s 28-13 victory at Wisconsin on Saturday night, the Nittany Lions football coach apologized for walking away from the microphone at a news conference earlier in the week after being asked about two former players who are facing rape charges.
"I didn't do a great job of handling Wednesday," Franklin said. "Difficult, difficult situation and I’ve got to own that I did not do a good job of that."
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Former Penn State defensive end Jameial Lyons has been charged with felony rape, aggravated assault without consent, voluntary deviate sexual intercourse and misdemeanor indecent assault without consent and invasion of privacy without consent. Former Penn State linebacker Kaveion Keys has been charged with felony rape, aggravated assault without consent and sexual assault and misdemeanor indecent assault without consent.
The charges stem from an incident with a 17-year-old girl at the players’ apartment in July. Lyons and Keys were initially suspended "to deal with a personal matter," though the school wouldn't elaborate on the disciplinary matter beyond that at the time. In early August, Penn State confirmed that both players were no longer on the Nittany Lions’ roster and were not enrolled at the university.
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After charges were filed Tuesday in Centre County, Pennsylvania, Penn State released a statement.
"We are aware of the serious charges against Mr. Keys and Mr. Lyons, who are no longer enrolled at the University," the statement read. "The safety of our community is our top priority, and Penn State takes any report of sexual assault or misconduct very seriously and investigates any and all reports."
When Franklin was asked about the charges at a news conference last Wednesday, he stepped away from the microphone and motioned to a school spokesperson, who re-read the university’s statement.
After Franklin walked back to the microphone, he was immediately asked by another reporter about when during the summer he knew the players would no longer be on the team. Before the question was complete, he again stepped away rather than offering a "no comment" or noting that it wouldn’t be appropriate to speak on an ongoing legal matter.
Following the win against Wisconsin, which pushed No. 3 Penn State to 7-0, Franklin acknowledged that he understood why the questions were asked.
"You guys have got a job to do and you’ve got to ask those questions," he said. "I respect that. The university had put out a statement and the reality is there's not a whole lot more I can say other than that statement. It's an ongoing legal situation and it's challenging. It's challenging on everybody. At the end of the day, I did not do a good job of handling that situation and representing this program in the right way."