Franklin refuses comment on PSU rape charges
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Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Writer
Penn State coach James Franklin declined to answer questions from reporters Wednesday after two of his former players were accused by police of raping a 17-year-old girl in their apartment on July 7.
Former Nittany Lions defensive end Jameial Lyons, 19, is 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, 19, is charged with felony rape, aggravated assault without consent and sexual assault and misdemeanor indecent assault without consent.
Lyons was released on $500,000 bond by Centre County Magisterial District Judge Donald M. Hahn during an arraignment Wednesday; Keys was released on $400,000 bond.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 30.
After Wednesday’s practice, a reporter started to ask Franklin about the criminal case. Franklin walked away from the microphone, and a university spokesperson read a prepared statement: “Regarding the two former Penn State football players, we released a statement yesterday and our program and athletics department will have no further comment.”
When another reporter attempted to ask Franklin about dismissing the players, he walked away again.
“Again, guys, the university already released a statement,” the spokesperson said.
The Centre Daily Times posted to its social media accounts a video of the exchange between Franklin and reporters.
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
According to a police criminal complaint and affidavit of probable cause obtained by ESPN, the 17-year-old student told police she met Keys and Lyons at an off-campus apartment on July 6 and went to their apartment early the next morning.
The girl told police that Keys and Lyons provided her and two other girls with alcohol. While she watched TV with the players in Keys’ bedroom, according to the affidavit, the players smoked marijuana.
The girl told police that while she was trying to fall asleep, the players approached her from both sides and touched her without consent. She told police that both men forced her to have oral sex with them.
She said the players raped her and she was unable to stop them because of their size. She told police that her arms were restrained and that the players grabbed her by the neck and choked her on several occasions. She said she couldn’t breathe.
The girl told police that she saw a camera flash, which she believed was from one of the players recording a video.
According to the affidavit, she “physically resisted and managed to get away. She screamed and swore at Keys and Lyons.” She tried to wake up two other women in the apartment.
Lyons “grabbed the victim, carried her outside, and dropped her on the ground,” according to police.
Police alleged that Lyons told the girl, “B—-, you’re not coming back here ever and stay the f— out of our life.”
Another woman told police that after waking up in the apartment to vomit, Lyons led her to his bedroom. She told police that she woke up without her pants on, while Lyons was sexually assaulting her.
On July 8, Penn State University Police served a search warrant at the apartment and interviewed Lyons and Keys. Initially, Keys told police that there were women in their apartment on July 7, but denied knowing the 17-year-old girl or having sex with any of the women.
Lyons told police that he had sex with the 17-year-old girl and that Keys participated in the sexual encounter. The affidavit said Lyons “demonstrated the manner in which he held the girl’s arms and grabbed her by the neck.”
“Lyons expressed the belief the contact was consensual; however, Lyons reported having an awareness the victim would likely report the situation to the police,” the affidavit said.
Police reported that a “short video documenting indecent contact” with the 17-year-old was located on the camera roll of Keys’ cellphone.
Penn State suspended Lyons and Keys from the football team in August.
“We are aware of the serious charges against Mr. Keys and Mr. Lyons, who are no longer enrolled at the University,” a university spokesperson said in a 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 any and all reports.”
Lyons, from Philadelphia, played in eight games as a freshman at Penn State in 2023. Keys, from Varina, Virginia, did not play and redshirted last season.
BOSTON — Red Sox manager Alex Cora will miss Monday’s series opener against the New York Mets at Fenway Park so he can attend his daughter’s college graduation.
Cora’s daughter, Camila, will be graduating from nearby Boston College.
“It’s going to be a very special day — one that I’m not going to miss,” Cora said before Sunday’s game vs. the Atlanta Braves. “I 100% will miss the game for that. I will do that any given day. It’s going to be a very special day for us.”
Cora reflected on how the time has seemed to go quickly and spoke about how fast his daughter seemed to grow up.
“It went fast, it went really fast,” Cora said of her time in college. “For a girl from divorced parents, her mom did an amazing job, staying the course while I was playing and coaching and doing my ESPN thing. … She’s actually a reflection of her. I appreciate everything she’s done for her and for us.”
Asked if he’ll be able to hold back his emotions at the ceremony, Cora smiled and said “We’ll see,” before bringing up memories of when his daughter was at the 2018 World Series victory celebration and a postseason series wrap-up win over Tampa Bay in ’21 at Fenway.
“It’s going to be an amazing day. It happened fast,” he said. “You put everything into perspective, you go back to the videos of ’18, she was a little girl.
“Then you go back to ’21 when she hopped onto the field when we beat Tampa, she was still a little girl. Now, she’s not a little girl,” he said. “She’s a woman. She had fun with it. She’s a great student and the future’s bright for her.”
MILWAUKEE — Brewers pitcher Tobias Myers is going back to the minors as he continues to struggle to match the success he enjoyed as a rookie last year.
The Brewers optioned Myers to Triple-A Nashville on Sunday while selecting right-handed pitcher Easton McGee from Triple-A and transferring left-handed pitcher Connor Thomas to the 60-day injured list.
Myers is 1-1 with a 4.95 ERA in six appearances, including five starts. He allowed four runs over 3 2/3 innings in a 7-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Saturday.
The right-hander had gone 9-6 with a 3.00 ERA last season and was selected the Brewers’ most valuable pitcher by the Milwaukee chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. He closed that season by pitching five scoreless innings in the decisive Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series against the New York Mets, a game the Brewers lost 4-2 by allowing four runs in the ninth.
“I love the kid, man,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said after Saturday’s game. “You saw it in Game 3, that’s in there. So we’ve got to get back to that.”
The Brewers had optioned Myers to Nashville a week ago, but he didn’t actually pitch there before rejoining the big-league club after left-hander José Quintana went on the injured list with a left shoulder issue. Now he’s heading back to Nashville.
Myers entered Saturday having walked 10 batters over 16 1/3 innings. He didn’t walk anyone Saturday, but gave up a career-high 11 hits.
“My goal was to fill the zone up and kind of get away from the walks I’ve been dealing with,” Myers said after the game. “I think I just filled it up a little too much.”
McGee went 1-0 with a 3.44 ERA and 20 strikeouts over 18 1/3 innings in 13 relief appearances with Nashville.
McGee appeared in one game for Tampa Bay in 2022 and one game for Seattle in 2023.In the only two games he has pitched in the big leagues, McGee has allowed just one unearned run over 9 2/3 innings while striking out three and allowing five hits and one walk.
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