Story behind Penn state head coach James Franklin physically walking away from the microphone and allowed a university spokesperson to read a prepared statement. Watch the video here.

College athletic departments have a habit of turning small negative stories into bigger issues by poorly handling the situation. On Wednesday, James Franklin demonstrated this with a prime example of media mismanagement when he was asked about two former Penn State football players facing felony rape charges.

Jameial Lyons and Kaveion Keys were accused of rape in July and were promptly dismissed from the team in August after being placed on interim suspension. The situation was severe, and Franklin and the program took quick and strict action. However, when asked about it on Wednesday, Franklin chose to avoid answering questions from the media on the subject.

When Franklin was questioned about the charges twice at the start of his press conference, he physically stepped away from the microphone and let a university spokesperson read a prepared statement. The statement said, “Regarding the two former Penn State football players, we released a statement yesterday, and our program and athletics department will 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

Reactions on social media have been divided. Journalists criticized Franklin’s immature behavior, while some Penn State fans defended him by attacking the media for doing their job of questioning the head coach after the university stated it would not provide further comments.

It wasn’t in Franklin’s best interest to comment on a legal matter that is still under investigation, but his behavior only intensified the story, negatively affecting everyone involved in this sensitive situation. He could have simply stated, “We released a statement yesterday, and our program and athletic department will have no further comment.” If he had done so, there would be no need for this story since the program had already dismissed the players and appeared to have handled the situation appropriately.

This isn’t the first time Franklin has faced criticism for his management of rape allegations against his players. During his time at Vanderbilt, he was alleged to have contacted the accuser of one of his players. These issues demand a high level of care and maturity when dealing with the media, especially at Penn State, and in this instance, Franklin fell significantly short.