James Franklin clarifies conversations with Sean Clifford following union reports
Reports came out on Friday that Penn State QB Sean Clifford will be leading a players union. James Franklin gave his answer when he was asked about it at B1G Media Days on Wednesday according to Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated.
After the initial reports about Clifford came out, he quickly distanced himself from the college football players association. In a personal statement, Clifford clarified he was having conversations with leadership through his platform as a student-athlete as opposed to working with the larger organization.
It could rub some coaches the wrong way if one of their players did this, but it doesn’t look like Franklin was bothered by it. Franklin stated that the had an open discussion with Clifford after the news came out. He also said that he has always been very proud of the relationships he has with his players.
“One of the things I’m very proud of is the relationships with our players,” said Franklin. “I’m a believer in having these open dialogs with our players. You’d better be willing to have those discussions.”
James Franklin on the Sean Clifford union/non-union kerfuffle: “One of the things I’m very, very proud of is the relationships with our players. I’m a believer in having these open dialogs with our players. You’d better be willing to have those discussions.”
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) July 27, 2022
While Franklin welcomes these kinds of talks with his players, he decided against revealing what was said while at the podium. Maybe he will reveal what all was said at a later date.
Franklin also said he’s not going to get into details of what was talked about. So the substance of those discussions he’s happy to have with his players won’t necessarily translate to informing the public.
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) July 27, 2022