James Franklin and Several Players Being Sued for Hazing
January 14th, 2020 at 12:49 PM ^
Shame on Frames Janklin. Good recruiter though.
January 14th, 2020 at 4:05 PM ^
You mean used car salesman? The dude is a scumbag and so are the players that go to Pedo State.
January 14th, 2020 at 12:49 PM ^
I get the impression that this Franklin guy is kind of an asshole.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:53 PM ^
He's the cool guy snake oil salesman
January 14th, 2020 at 3:59 PM ^
....and a heck of an illustrator
January 14th, 2020 at 4:52 PM ^
But Jackie Treehorn he most certainly is not.
January 14th, 2020 at 12:51 PM ^
Good. Hazing is absolutely ridiculous. I would never agree to do any type of hazing others would try to do to me.
January 14th, 2020 at 3:55 PM ^
That's a swirly for you big man...
January 14th, 2020 at 6:05 PM ^
Being that he is from Sydney, would your swirly also rotate in the opposite direction?
January 14th, 2020 at 12:51 PM ^
He claims that, among other things, the hazers invoked the name of disgraced former coach Jerry Sandusky, who is in prison for molesting young boys.
All part of the "healing process," no doubt.
January 14th, 2020 at 12:53 PM ^
Um sometimes you dont have to add a thing to a quote. This would definitely be one of those times IMO. Read it and weep (literally)
January 14th, 2020 at 1:14 PM ^
Oh, don't worry, the Joe-Bots were prepared. Here's the story linked by the first commenter on the original article: https://wjactv.com/news/local/penn-state-investigates-assault-claims-made-by-football-player
It seems it was "just locker-room horseplay," and the Centre County DA isn't pressing charges. Because if you can't trust the Centre County DA, who can you trust, amirite?
January 14th, 2020 at 1:23 PM ^
Humphries says the hazers told underclassmen on the team that they were “their bitch because this is a prison” and threatened them with sexual assault.
yep sure sounds like friendly locker room horseplay to me. wait what's that?
Luketa even threatened to have him killed for complaining about the hazing, Humphries contends.
boys will be boys!
January 14th, 2020 at 2:26 PM ^
Ray Gricar did not criminally charge Jerry Sandusky in 1998, that is true.
I'm not sure, however, that that incident 21 years ago is a valid reason to suggest malfeasance on the part of this Centre County DA in 2019.
A criminal investigation did not lead to charges here, and now we have a civil lawsuit. That's where we are. We'll see how it develops, but no need just yet (for JoeBots or "the other side") to jump to a conclusion.
(on a side note: I'm a PSU AND Warren De La Salle grad. These non-on-the-field football stories are wearying).
January 14th, 2020 at 2:36 PM ^
That's fair. I hope that you'll allow that the Centre County DA, like the Ingham County DA, (or the Leon County, FL DA -- Tallahassee) doesn't get the benefit of the doubt -- but I'll also allow that allegations in a civil suit are unproven.
I would certainly prefer to find that the DA is correct and the plaintiff is lying.
January 14th, 2020 at 2:49 PM ^
Why should those DAs not get the benefit of the doubt? If you're going to suggest bad acting on the part of a Centre/Leon/Ingham/(fill in the blank) County DA, isn't the burden of proof on your end?
Your POV just seems too cynical for me. Previous bad actors do not mean everyone in the present day is a bad actor. But that's just me, my philosophy, I guess.
Last spring, the Centre County DA had a case involving State College cops who wound up fatally shooting a black man with mental health issues who came at them with a knife. The cops weren't charged, and that story didn't become a national story (as it had the potential to be). But I thought the DA acted professionally in that case, I knew about the story because I still follow the news in my one-time hometown.
January 14th, 2020 at 3:56 PM ^
Lets be clear, your example to prove the integrity of the DA is when he didn’t prosecute PSU employees? I have no idea if that was the right thing to do, but that’s a pretty terrible example, since the DA ultimately favored the university.
January 14th, 2020 at 4:18 PM ^
No. "State College cops" - those aren't PSU employees.
January 14th, 2020 at 4:08 PM ^
Good Lord, just admit that the sandusky era is one that lives on at that school and area and the people who go there and the fan base are still proud of it!
BTW, FUCK ped state and all their delusional joepa loving fans and all the paternos and field goal franklin!!!
January 14th, 2020 at 4:31 PM ^
No shit.
These non-on-the-field football stories are wearying
I would have found a better program to associate myself with by now.
January 14th, 2020 at 4:23 PM ^
Are we supposed to trust that the local cops and DAs will get to the bottom of any legal issues involving the PSU football team? I find that pretty laughable. I think we could all agree that it wouldn't be a good career move.
It's not like a player was caught in the act of committing a crime and arrested. I wouldn't be surprised if the DA prosecuted under those circumstances. But this reminds so much of what's happened at MSU recently. It takes a real investigation into a powerful institution and doing more than just accepting the predictable denials of people involved.
January 14th, 2020 at 4:52 PM ^
Yes, I philosophically believe that everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt until there's tangible evidence they shouldn't get the benefit of the doubt. Yes.
As regards the current Centre County DA, I don't currently see evidence against him. Gricar made a mistake as regards Sandusky in the 1990s and 2000s. Fine, but this guy isn't Gricar - Gricar's mistakes are not this guy's mistakes (Cantoria has been in the DA role since 2018).
As regards trust, all kinds of DAs and local cops face off against powerful interests. From (1) small-county Kansas against the corporate rancher, to (2) mid-sized county that also houses Big State U, to (3) Mid-Town Manhattan against billionaire real-estate developers. It's not just a Centre/Leon/Ingham/(fill-in-the-blank) county thing.
I think your initial argument could easily be extended to argue that we shouldn't ever trust ANY DA or cop. And that wouldn't be healthy, obviously.
January 16th, 2020 at 9:35 PM ^
Nail, meet hammer. You NAILED home your point.
January 14th, 2020 at 6:32 PM ^
I'm operating under the principle of "fool me once..."
I singled out those specific counties for a reason; I'm sure that there are others as well. And, you're right, later when you say that it happens in other places, for other reasons, also.
Let's take Centre County out of it for a second, as I don't want this to be personal, so let's discuss Ingham. After the stories -- which have largely borne out -- about the various bits of malfeasance covered up by the Ingham County DA's office, I'm going to be looking at them with a jaundiced eye. The stain upon their office will last a while -- probably until / unless there is a series of high-profile incidents that are clearly handled aboveboard. That's a sad state of affairs -- neither I, nor anyone, want more high-profile incidents in Ingham or anywhere else -- but it's true.
When an entity appears to be corrupt, it loses my personal benefit of the doubt, and the onus is on them to regain my trust, not vice versa. It's not the specific DA -- problems in all of those counties mentioned (and beyond) go well beyond a specific prosecutor or elected official. They need to show that they put the law ahead of the university (and the sports teams), not vice versa, and they need to do that a lot, consistently, before I'm going to rethink my stance.
January 14th, 2020 at 7:01 PM ^
That's fair - and definitely a +1 for the thoughtful response.
The remainder of my comment is definitely "inside baseball" as regards Centre County politics. But I do think the DA office has had a fair, non-untoward relationship with PSU over much of the last 15 years (since Gricar disappeared).
Michael Madeira became the DA after Gricar, and held the role 2005-2009. HE was the one who re-opened the Sandusky investigation, eventually handing it off to Harrisburg because of a conflict of interest (Madeira's wife's brother was an adopted son of Sandusky). So, it was the Centre County DA who got the whole ball rolling again in the first place.
Madeira also charged 6 football players in 2007 for their role in a couple on- and off-campus fights. That wound up being a mix of players pleading guilty, and others having their charges dismissed.
Stacy Parks Miller was the next DA (2010-2017). Now, she has her own issues: her law license was suspended in 2019 for ex parte communications with judges. But she was all over the PSU fraternity hazing case, and there's an argument (I'm not arguing this, I'm just acknowledging the argument) that she was over-zealous in who she charged. But that was a case that definitely gave PSU a black eye, and it was led by the Centre County DA.
Miller also criminally charged a couple PSU football players during the Bill O'Brien era (stuff like passing of counterfeit $, aggravated assault and possession of drugs).
Now we're on to the new DA. But, point being, I've seen a history of Centre County DAs (post-Gricar) putting the law ahead of PSU. And that's a part of why I'm giving the benefit of the doubt (until proven otherwise) here today.
As for Ingham County - yes, their leash is short right now. Hopefully it can be lengthened again.
January 14th, 2020 at 4:00 PM ^
Doesn’t Penn State have their own blogs, like the NAMBLA forum or something?
January 14th, 2020 at 4:07 PM ^
Isn’t Gricar the guy who disappeared and his laptop was found in a river?
January 14th, 2020 at 4:21 PM ^
Yes, Gricar was the one. April 2005. Completely disappeared - never been found, dead or alive.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:16 PM ^
And yet we still lose the Theo Johnson's of the world to these people. We may be forever trapped in a spiral of high-end mediocrity but at least we're not doing this shit.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:53 PM ^
We need to get some bagmen to haze our players if we wanna keep up with PSU and beat OSU!!!
January 14th, 2020 at 4:35 PM ^
you left out "and play Minnesota's schedule".
January 14th, 2020 at 5:09 PM ^
Better still we can just get PSU to beat OSU for us—-and unlike us recently, they actually have. They seem to like the dirty work.
January 14th, 2020 at 3:47 PM ^
James Franklin isn't known as a great developer of talent, and he's certainly not known as a game strategist. The one area he is (fairly) praised for is recruiting.
Despite that, according to 247, Michigan's recruiting classes have been better than PSU's 4 of the last 5 years, including 2020.
Our classes have been on average 10.8th best in the country, with average recruit rating of .901,
PSU's classes have been on average 13.4th best, with average recruit rating of .897.
Franklin is a formidable recruiter, and wins his share of battles. While it's pretty close, Harbaugh has out-recruited him overall according to 247.
PSU isn't our problem - we all know it's OSU. Their recruiting is on another level.
January 14th, 2020 at 4:03 PM ^
Nothing that we know about at least... Sandusky was under wraps for how many years before it came to light?
Not saying that there are any issues at UM, as Harbaugh would be the last one of our recent 4 or 5 coaches that I think would put up with it.
Then again Harbaugh's "Weak Bird" comments could be considered assault since they're so stupid I feel like my intelligence decreases just by listening to that crap... but who knows.
*Please neg bang me, I haven't had my prostate exam yet this year* Thanks,
January 14th, 2020 at 6:11 PM ^
If you're talking about the nervous bird remark, that one amused me, but I guess I just thought he wasn't being serious. However, his tweet promoting Judge Judy for Supreme Court nomination really made me question his processing. And that's a fack.
January 14th, 2020 at 7:39 PM ^
lostwages, one thing I will never understand is how the Sandusky mess (much like the Catholic priest mess) stayed "under wraps" so long.
I've mentioned this before - as a kid in Ann Arbor, I heard all kinds of rumors about Sandusky and little boys when he suddenly stopped coaching.
He was widely regarded as a top defensive coach and heir apparent to JoPa or candidate for another head coaching position - suddenly poof! He retired.
I was just a kid, with no connection to UM athletics other than being a diehard fan, and there was no internet or social media- yet even I heard about Sandusky. It was a different time, for sure.
The saddest part of the whole mess is that he continued to abuse kids and somehow still had access to PSU facilities years after being forced out of his coaching position. That's just mind-boggling.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:11 PM ^
If this accusation turns out to be true, I'd have to think it will be the end of Franklin's days at PSU. This is assuming the people now in charge at Penn State learned anything at all from the last huge scandal.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:14 PM ^
This is assuming the people now in charge at Penn State learned anything at all from the last huge scandal.
What would make you think that?
January 14th, 2020 at 4:39 PM ^
I think the poster forgot the "/s"...
given this quote "This is assuming the people now in charge at Penn State learned anything at all from the last huge scandal".
Because when players and staff from this program mentioning "Sanduskying someone", and none of those people were there when the scandal broke, something tells me nobody has learned jack-fucking-shit from the *last* scandal.
January 14th, 2020 at 7:45 PM ^
If this happened he has too be gone, the only alternative is for PSU to feel it's OK that they can let everyone know they DGAF about the past. If that's their take then some kind of sanctioning would definitely be in order
January 14th, 2020 at 1:14 PM ^
This is messed up on so many levels. Hazing is just dumb. Saying Sandusky stuff should not be tolerated at all. But then performing sexual acts on these guys as well? Wtf man. Burn the place down.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:23 PM ^
Ass rape appears to remain an integral part of the Penn State football philosophy.
January 14th, 2020 at 4:04 PM ^
This is not shocking, these fucking morans are PROUD of their sandusky legacy and want to continue it!!!
Ped State gonna Ped State!
BTW, FUCK ped state and all their delusional joepa loving fans and all the paternos and field goal franklin!!!
January 14th, 2020 at 1:34 PM ^
Will this help Michigan football compete at an elite level ?
January 14th, 2020 at 1:40 PM ^
If it came down to it, I'd rather that Michigan lose to a PSU team that doesn't have a culture of rampant sexual abuse than beat a team that does. Some things are bigger than sports.
January 14th, 2020 at 4:05 PM ^
No, but your comment definitely will!!!
January 14th, 2020 at 1:53 PM ^
This seems like a fireable offense, is it not? Obviously what happened at Maryland with Durkin resulted in a death, but hazing is hazing
January 14th, 2020 at 4:03 PM ^
I think this is a reasonable question, but not a slam dunk.
Hazing sucks, and should NOT be tolerated. That said, hazing covers a wide range of things from "back of the line, frosh", to awful physical and verbal abuse.
All hazing should be abolished and participants should be punished, but I'm not sure we (or at least I) know enough about what actually occurred to advocate for Franklin's dismissal.
I certainly hope there's a fair and real investigation, and that investigation finds things aren't so horrible. I further hope that proper steps are taken to ensure it ends - NOW.
If it's bad, there have to be real consequences for everyone involved, and for the people in charge.
My greatest hope is that Michigan's leadership/administration pays attention to these scandals - especially at B1G schools - and is proactive in oversight at our school.
I take no pleasure in these scandals.
January 14th, 2020 at 4:43 PM ^
I take no pleasure in these scandals.
Contrary to The Daily's article on the topic a few weeks ago. Very few people do.
But the Joepologists keep this shit alive and I would argue most of the people here posting aren't gloating but outraged at how DISGUSTING Penn State is and THOSE ASSOCIATED WITH IT!
January 14th, 2020 at 5:38 PM ^
Yes, I get that. But at some point I think it's appropriate to move on. Sandusky's been locked up for 8 years.
If I'm not mistaken, PSU's entire leadership chain up from Sandusky is gone. I sincerely hope that school and its leaders have learned and adjusted.
Of course, if these allegations are true, there's still some evil lurking inside the institution. I agree wholeheartedly THAT is disgusting.
Fans are fans - I really don't care about their attitude. More distressing to me is our neighbor to the north. Their scandal is every bit as heinous, and to me it feels like they did everything in their power to try to minimize rather than correct the problem.
I honestly used to feel the B1G, as a conference, had more class, integrity and responsibility than other conferences. Don't feel that way any more. That sucks.