Former state secretary for football, Penn State, said James Franklin was interfering in the decision to eliminate players

In a lawsuit last week, the former orthopedic doctor at the Penn State football team said Nittany Lions coach James Franklin had pressured him to allow the players to return to court. play before their match. The civil suit was filed Friday in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. In his complaint, Dr. Scott Lynch said he lost his athlete job earlier this year after reporting Franklin's interference to several college superiors.

Lynch claims damages in excess of US $ 50,000 under the State Whistleblower Protection Act. Lynch is still employed by the university, but does not participate in the athletics department.

Lynch was named the team's orthopedic physician in 2013 and then director of sports medicine a year later. In his lawsuit, Lynch told senior figures that "on several occasions and on several occasions, defendant James Franklin has attempted to interfere with the claimant's autonomous authority to determine medical management and decisions back to the game regarding student athletes. " The prosecution added that Franklin "created a culture and a climate that, at a minimum, prevented full respect" from the doctors of the independence team.

Lynch made these reports to Dr. Kevin P. Black, currently Acting Dean of the College of Medicine, to Robert Boland, Penn State's "Sports Integrity Officer", to Sports Director Sandy Barbour, and to the Assistant Director of Sports, Charmelle Green, complaint. Around January 24th of this year, Barbour and Green told Black that "the plaintiff would be relieved of his duties as Orthopedic Physician of the Penn State University Football Interleague Team and Director of sports medicine for the Penn State University. "

When Penn State demolished Lynch in March, the university said it wanted an orthopedic surgeon based at State College and not at Hershey. (The Penn State College and Medical Center, officially Milton S. Hershey Medical Center of Penn State Health, are based in the chocolate city.) The Penn State Health press release at the time quoted the increasing responsibilities of Lynch to Hershey "as the reason for the split. .

The prosecution does not list any specific case where Franklin interfered with Lynch's decisions regarding the return of athletes to the field. As detailed in the lawsuit, a regulation of the NCAA cites "the undisputed autonomous authority" of doctors in decisions regarding the participation of players in games.

When Deadspin contacted him, various Penn State departments declined to comment or did not respond to the request. Penn State Health issued a statement denying the allegations contained in the complaint but defending the man who filed it:

In February 2019, Penn State Health's directors decided to change leadership in sports medicine and care for intercollegiate athletes. This transition was made in the interest of student athletes, given the complexity and increasing demands of sports medicine and health care in general.

While rejecting Dr. Lynch's claims and vigorously defending our program and its representatives, we are always grateful for his five years as Intercollegiate Athletics' Director of Athletic Medicine and for his ongoing association with Penn State Health.

Lynch, in the lawsuit, said the reasoning that Penn State was looking for a state college-based doctor was a cover story. But the question was raised before, in a presentation by David Epstein in 2013 about Penn State's medical staff. Illustrated Sports. The story, titled "What Still Ails Penn State," details a power struggle between then state-run David Joyner and former sports medicine director Wayne Sebastianelli. She also quoted an unnamed member of the sports department who criticized the team for letting coach Bill O'Brien make recommendations for changing medical staff.

in the IF Sebastianelli criticized the football program for having his orthopedic surgeon based in Hershey, about two hours from State College. "Scott Lynch is an excellent doctor, but he is based in Hershey and is a full-time doctor," said Pellegrini. IF.

At the time, Penn State officials had vigorously defended the story, and O'Brien called it "the assassination of Dave Joyner by the character."[a]Any suggestion that care is compromised by changing the assignment of doctors is both unfounded and incorrect. "

A few years later, apparently, Penn State changed its mind. The new doctor at the Penn State football team, named in March, is Sebastianelli.

A complete copy of the complaint is below.