Not BREAKING: James Franklin is a piece of shite UPDATE: Dr Lynch awarded $5.25 million

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A second team doctor with Penn State football testified Tuesday about multiple times that he said Coach James Franklin attempted to interfere with the medical decisions of team doctors and trainers.

This interference included a player who attempted to kill himself by throwing himself out a window, according to Dr. Pete Seidenberg, who served as a primary care team physician during Franklin’s early years as head coach. Seidenberg is no longer with Penn State and practices out of state.

“Thankfully someone stopped him,” Seidenberg said of the player, who was not named in open court in Dauphin County.

The suicidal player was still receiving treatment in short-term psychiatric care when Seidenberg testified Franklin and then-Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour wanted the player medically disqualified from the team.

Seidenberg testified this would have meant the player would lose his Penn State scholarship so Franklin could offer it to another player during the upcoming offseason.

Seidenberg testified he and Dr. Scott Lynch, then Penn State’s director of athletic medicine and orthopedic consultant to the football team, declined to follow Franklin’s and Barbour’s request. Seidenberg said it would have been the equivalent of disqualifying a player with a torn ACL before he received surgery.

The incident was one of several detailed Tuesday by Seidenberg as part of the ongoing trial brought by Lynch.

Lynch was fired from his dual roles as Penn State’ director of athletic medicine and orthopedic consultant to the football team on March 1, 2019, leading to his lawsuit.

The suit alleges Lynch had repeated clashes with Franklin, who took over in 2014. Lynch claims he was terminated from his dual roles because he refused to “allow a coach to interfere with his medical treatment and return to play decisions.”

Lynch says he reported Franklin’s interference to Penn State Athletics and Penn State Health, including his immediate supervisor there, Dr. Kevin Black, who’s also being sued by Lynch. He is seeking both compensatory and punitive damages in the case.

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A jury Wednesday found in favor of a former Penn State athletics team doctor who claimed that he was removed as team physician in retaliation for complaining about head football coach James Franklin interfering with medical treatment and return-to-play decisions.

A Dauphin County jury in Harrisburg awarded orthopedic surgeon Dr. Scott Lynch $5.25 million in punitive and compensatory damages. Testimony during the seven-day trial included former Penn State players, doctors, athletic trainers, university system officials and others discussing examples of injuries and medical decisions.

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