Penn State, its football coach and athletic director are defendants in a lawsuit filed by a former physician employed to oversee the health of its football team, according to a report by PennLive.com.
In the 43-page suit filed in eastern Pennsylvania, Dr. Scott A. Lynch claims Franklin “on multiple and repeated occasions” tried to influence Lynch’s decisions regarding clearing injured players to return to play.
Lynch is seeking more than $50,000 in damages, per the PennLive report, and claims his dismissal in March violates Pennsylvania’s Whistleblower Law.
#BREAKING: Penn State football coach James Franklin pressured me to clear injured players to play, ousted team doctor claims https://t.co/ShZcdfjV3c
— PennLive.com (@PennLive) August 26, 2019
According to the suit, Lynch was hired as orthopedic surgeon for the football team in 2013 and was named director of athletic medicine the following year. But he was replaced in those roles in March, the university citing a desire to have the physician filling them to be more local than Hershey (a two-hour drive away).
Lynch remains employed by Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, which is named as one of the suit’s defendants in addition to the university, Franklin, athletic director Sandy Barbour, senior associate athletic director Charmelle Green and Penn State chair orthopedics and rehabilitation Dr. Kevin P. Black.
— David Jones (@djoneshoop) August 26, 2019
Penn State Health, in a statement released to PennLive.com, said it “reject(s) Dr. Lynch’s claims and will vigorously defend our program and its representatives, we remain grateful to him for his five years as director of athletic medicine for Intercollegiate Athletics and for his continued association with Penn State Health.”
Penn State football opens its season Saturday at home against Idaho.
