Penn State coach James Franklin wishes he handled what was a tense situation Wednesday evening differently, and he told reporters that at the end of his postgame press conference following Saturday’s 28-13 win over Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium.
Every Wednesday during the season, Franklin meets with reporters for 10 minutes following practice.
This past Wednesday’s media scrum came in wake of two former Penn State players, Jameial Lyons and Kaveion Keys, being charged with multiple crimes, including rape.
THE QUESTIONS
Sophomore defensive end Jameial Lyons with a pass rush effort against second year J’ven Williams.
Photo by Penn State Athletics: Kaveion Keys
After a university spokesperson read a statement beforehand saying there’d be no comment, the first question of Franklin’s weekly Wednesday post-practice scrum was about the recent news that dismissed players were to be charged.
James Franklin stepped aside to make room for the spokesperson to tell the assembled media that there would be no comment.
A reporter than asked Franklin “at what point in the summer were you aware that these guys were not going to be on the team.”
Before the question was done, Franklin again began walking off.
“Again, guys,” the spokesperson said. “The university already released a statement. If you need the statement, reach out to me or Kris (Peterson). We’ll have no further comment.”
James Franklin refused to comment on rape charges against former players. My story, with video (from @JacksonRanger1) of when Franklin was asked:https://t.co/9pbLokyZag pic.twitter.com/JUMZWhMbOR
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 24, 2024
In late July, word got out that the two players had been suspended. Days later, it was confirmed that they were no longer with the program or enrolled at the University. The felony charges came down more than two months later.
Per the docket, Lyons is being charged with rape, aggravated indecent assault without consent, indecent assault, voluntary deviant sexual intercourse and invasion of privacy.
Per Keys’ docket sheet, he’s being charged with rape, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, and indecent assault.
The Centre Daily Times first reported that the docket sheets were online, which indicated that charges would be coming, and these charges stem from an alleged incident that took place this past July in State College.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.“No defense lawyers were listed on the dockets sheets, which are summaries of court case proceedings and filings,” wrote Bret Pallotto of the CDT. “Affidavits of probable cause — documents that detail police investigations and evidence prosecutors have gathered — were not immediately released. The suspects are to be arraigned Wednesday by District Judge Don Hahn. His office said Tuesday the affidavits would be released after Keys and Lyons are arraigned.”
This news broke Tuesday afternoon, after James Franklin gave his weekly Monday press conference, so Wednesday was the first chance media had to speak with him since the news broke.
The next day, Pallotto reported an update.
“Two former Penn State football players accused of raping a student gave police differing accounts of what happened, according to charging documents made public Wednesday. Jameial J. Lyons Jr., 19, of Philadelphia, was accused of raping a 17-year-old Penn State student July 7 at an on-campus apartment. He was also accused of groping, digital penetration and forcing her to perform oral sex.
Kaveion A. Keys, 19, of Virginia, was accused of similar sexual violence against the teen. A short video of the contact with their accuser was found on a cellphone Lyons possessed, university police wrote in an affidavit of probable cause. Lyons was also charged for indecently assaulting a second woman who was intoxicated. Neither woman consented to the sexual contact, police wrote.”
Pallotto also reported that the two were arrogated Wednesday morning by District Judge Don Hahn. Hahn set Lyons’ bail— unsecured— at $500,000– and Keys’ bail was set at $400,000.
“They will remain free and neither was required to post bail unless they violate their bail conditions,” Pallotto wrote.
Penn State also issued a statement amid the charges.
“We are aware of the serious charges against Mr. Keys and Mr. Lyons, who are no longer enrolled at the University,” Penn State said in a statement Oct. 22. “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.”
FRANKLIN’S APOLOGY
Most of Franklin’s presser was spent, as usual, talking about the game that just transpired.
After he fielded the last question, he said there was one more thing he wanted to get off his chest.
“At the end of the day, I did not do a good job of handling that situation and representing this program the right way, so I wanted to take a minute and apologize for that,” Franklin said . “I understand that you guys got a job to do, so I didn’t do a good job there. I’m trying to get better like everybody else in a difficult situation. And I think that is the big reason for all of this. It’s a difficult situation and a challenging situation, and I apologize.”
James Franklin and No. 3 Penn State are now 7-0 and will have a showdown with No. 4 Ohio State next Saturday at Beaver Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for noon.
Penn State HC James Franklin ends his postgame presser by apologizing for how he handled being asked about two dismissed players Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/AaisR1PdVB
— Joe Smeltzer (@joesmeltzer775) October 27, 2024
