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    • Penn State football coach James Franklin apologizes for reaction to press conference
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    Penn State football coach James Franklin apologizes for reaction to press conference

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    Penn State football coach James Franklin apologized Saturday for the way he handled a media availability last week, during which he chose not to answer questions about two former players accused of rape.

    Franklin said he “didn’t do a good job” during a post-practice media session last Wednesday when he walked away from a microphone twice after being asked about former players Jameial Lyons and Kaveion Keys, who were accused of multiple counts of rape and indecent assault. The players were kicked out of the college and football program before the season, but Franklin wasn’t asked about the situation until charges were filed last week.

    A Penn State spokesman read the following statement before Franklin’s began his post-practice availability: “In regards to the two former Penn State football players, we released a statement (Tuesday) that our program and department athletics will have no other comments”. When asked the first question, Franklin deferred to team spokespersonwho read the statement once more. When asked a second time about the timeline of players being removed from the team, Franklin waived a media availability at Penn State’s Holuba Hall. He returned to answer questions about the Wisconsin game for another three minutes, and the session ended.

    “The first thing I want to say is I want to apologize. I didn’t do well on Wednesday,” Franklin said after the Nittany Lions. 28-13 win over Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium. “Difficult, difficult situation and I have to admit I didn’t do a good job of it. I understand you have a job to do. You have to ask those questions and I respect that. The university has made a statement, and the reality is that I can’t say much other than that statement. It’s an ongoing legal situation and it’s challenging. It’s a challenge for everyone.”

    Franklin’s reaction to the media availability briefly became a national story, with ESPN covering it under the headline: “James Franklin declines to comment on rape allegations against former Penn State football players”.

    “At the end of the day, I didn’t do a good job of handling the situation and representing this program the right way, so I wanted to take a minute and apologize for that,” Franklin said Saturday night in Madison . “I understand you guys had a job to do, so I didn’t do a good job there. I’m trying to get better, like everyone else in a difficult situation. And I think that’s an important reason for all of this. It’s a difficult situation and a challenging situation, so I apologize.”

    Lyons, 19, of Philadelphia, was charged with one count of felony rape, two counts of aggravated non-consent and one count of voluntary misdemeanor sexual intercourse. Lyons was also charged with felony counts of indecent assault without consent and invasion of privacy. Keys, 19, of Richmond, Virginia, was charged with one count of rape, one count of aggravated indecent assault without consent and one count of sexual assault, all felonies. He was also charged with misdemeanor indecent assault without consent.

    right affidavit of probable causea 17-year-old Penn State student told police that Lyons and Keys “forcefully raped” her during an alleged July 7 incident. A second victim alleged that Lyons sexually assaulted her that same evening in an apartment on campus.

    Penn State said in a statement on July 31 that both players have been placed on “provisional suspension.” The football program then issued a statement prior to preseason media day on August 3, Lyons and Keys were no longer enrolled on the varsity or part of the football team.

    “We are aware of the serious allegations against Mr. Keys and Mr. Lyons, who are no longer enrolled at the university,” Penn State said in an Oct. 22 statement. “The safety of our community is our top priority, and Penn State takes any report of sexual assault or misconduct very seriously and investigates all reports.”

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    Penn State on SI is the place for Penn State news, views and insights on the SI.com network. Editor Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.

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