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‘Total BS’: Former Penn State LB weighs in on lawsuit against James Franklin

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

A former Penn State linebacker has jumped to the defense of his former head coach amidst a lawsuit that alleges James Franklin created a hostile work environment for an ex-team doctor.

Dr. Scott A Lynch has filed a lawsuit against Penn State University, naming Franklin and athletic director Sandy Barbour, saying he was pressured to approve players to return to the field while still injured. The pressure jeopardized his medical judgement, and now he’s seeking $50,000 in damages after being terminated last March.

Former Penn State linebacker Jason Cabinda isn’t having any of it.

On Twitter, Cabinda shot down the notion that his former head coach had any involvement in pressuring Lynch to approve players to return to the field while injured.

“Lemme go ahead and save y’all the time of speculation,” Cabinda wrote. “This is complete and total BS straight up.”

Cabinda was at Penn State from 2014-2017, all years under Franklin. He was one of the top linebackers at the school during his time and is now currently a member of the Oakland Raiders.

Penn State responded to the lawsuit publicly on Monday, saying it rejected the arguments Dr. Lynch makes in the suit.

RELATED: Franklin Accused of Pressuring Team Doctor

“In February 2019, Penn State Health administrators decided to change leadership for athletic medicine and the delivery of care for Intercollegiate Athletics,” the statement read. “This transition was completed with the best interests of student-athletes in mind, given the increasing complexity and growing demands of sports medicine, as well as health care in general.”

Franklin will hold his weekly press conference on Tuesday. While he likely won’t speak at length about the situation or the suit, he may offer an official statement on the matter.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB