MADISON, Wis. — Penn State Coach James Franklin apologized for stepping away from the microphone Wednesday when asked about two former players who were accused by police of raping a 17-year-old girl in their apartment on July 7.

“We didn’t do a great job of handling Wednesday,” Franklin said Saturday night after Penn State’s statement. 28-13 win fish Wisconsin. “Difficult, difficult situation and I’ve come to recognize that I didn’t do a good job of that … I didn’t do a good job of handling that situation and representing this program the right way.”

Former Nittany Lions defensive end Jameial Lyons, 19, is charged with felony rape, aggravated assault without consent, voluntary deviant sexual act without consent and indecent assault without consent and invasion of privacy without consent. Former Penn State linebacker Kaveion Keys, 19, is charged with felony rape, aggravated nonconsensual assault and sexual assault and misdemeanor indecent assault without consent.

Penn State suspended Lyons and Keys from the football team in August.

“We are aware of the serious allegations against Mr Keys and Mr Lyons, who are no longer enrolled at the university,” a school spokesman said in a statement last week. “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.”

After Wednesday’s practice, a reporter began asking Franklin about the criminal record. Franklin stepped away from the microphone, and a university spokesman read a prepared statement: “Regarding the two former Penn State football players, we released a statement yesterday and our program and athletics department will no longer have comment”.

When another reporter tried to ask Franklin about firing the players, he walked away again.

Franklin said Saturday that he understood why the questions had to be asked.

“I respect that,” he said. “The reality is, I can’t say much else than that (of the university) statement. It’s an ongoing legal situation and it’s challenging. It’s a challenge for everyone. … I didn’t do a good job there. I’m trying to get better like everyone else in a difficult situation. … I apologize.”

ESPN senior writer Mark Schlabach contributed to this report.