FC/OT: Article says Franklin tried to interfere with team doctors…

NittPicker

Well-known member
Oct 7, 2021
3,046
6,321
113
So we're to believe that upon hearing a player tried to dive out a window, James Franklin more or less said, "Get that f**ker off the team ASAP!!" How about a more benevolent interpretation such as James felt the player needed to get himself right, thus the rigors and expectations of performing on the field weren't something the player should have to worry about. But the characterization of Franklin as an uncaring hardass is the salacious angle people want.
 

LionJim

Well-known member
Oct 12, 2021
8,652
11,776
113
So we're to believe that upon hearing a player tried to dive out a window, James Franklin more or less said, "Get that f**ker off the team ASAP!!" How about a more benevolent interpretation such as James felt the player needed to get himself right, thus the rigors and expectations of performing on the field weren't something the player should have to worry about. But the characterization of Franklin as an uncaring hardass is the salacious angle people want.
I like this take.
 

Zenophile

Well-known member
Oct 7, 2021
969
3,003
93
Yeah me too. You could criticize Franklin about a lot of things, but not caring about his players is not one of them.
🤜💥🤛

Of the things about Coach Franklin that may be of concern, the authenticity of his affection for the players ranks near the bottom.
 

s1uggo72

Well-known member
Oct 12, 2021
4,701
3,720
113
Depends and I'm not sure the doctor is in any position to know unless he was told.
He could/would have been placed on a medical scholarship. Could t play anymore but still keeps a scholarship, but doesn’t count v the limit
 

GrimReaper

Well-known member
Oct 12, 2021
5,764
7,920
113
He could/would have been placed on a medical scholarship. Could t play anymore but still keeps a scholarship, but doesn’t count v the limit
There is no such thing as a "medical scholarship." Once a player is medically disqualified from participating in sports, it's entirely at the discretion of the school whether it continues providing financial aid. It's not automatic.
 

BW Lion

Well-known member
Oct 14, 2021
2,950
2,359
113
So two doctors are testifying, under oath, that James Franklin periodically interjects himself into life situations beyond his mental and/or professional capabilities?🤷🏼‍♂️🤷🏼‍♂️

I somehow now understand the quizzacle decisions to go for it on 4th down, especially at his own 35 yd line. 🙄🙄
 

blion72

Well-known member
Oct 30, 2021
1,385
1,061
113
Because Franklin didn’t hire Lynch or ultimately decide to fire him. I concede that I haven’t read the claims made against Franklin in the pleadings before he was dismissed so I don’t really know what claims were being made against him. The only thing that occurs to me would be tortious interference with the contract between Lynch and PSU. That claim would require Lynch to prove Franklin (1) in fact interfered with his medical decisions and (2) Franklin induced PSU that fire him because he criticized Franklin for doing so. The claim against PSU as I understand it is that the University fired him as an act of retaliation because he claimed Franklin interfered with his medical judgment/decisions. While I am never surprised by anything a jury does any more, I think Lynch has a tough case against the University on the retaliation claim since PSU has cited legitimate reasons for his termination. If Franklin were still a defendant, he would have an even more difficult claim against him in my judgment again because Franklin didn’t fire him. I will be very interested in seeing whether Lynch calls any former player(s) to testify that Franklin tried to interfere with Lynch’s medical advice/treatment plans.
having been around employment cases your logic is spot on. using JF in the claim is showmanship by plaintiff's counsel.
 

Bvillebaron

Well-known member
Oct 12, 2021
1,362
1,439
113
having been around employment cases your logic is spot on. using JF in the claim is showmanship by plaintiff's counsel.
Thanks. I have represented predominantly plaintiffs but sometimes defendants in discrimination and wrongful termination cases. If Lynch had a legitimate claim against Franklin, his lawyer shouldn’t have blown the statute of limitations.
 

WSTLion87

Well-known member
Oct 10, 2021
661
1,344
93
"Let negative people live their negative lives in their negative minds." - Moosa Rahat
 

HappyValley1

Well-known member
Sep 18, 2022
200
527
93
Franklin being dismissed from the lawsuit was due to the most technical of technicalities - I think their paperwork to have him included was filed a day late, something like that anyway (I'm sure there were some stories at the time, that someone could Google for more detail). Of course, the rules are the rules.

No idea where this eventually goes.

EDIT: Here is one James Franklin ‘issue’ sparks mistrial in fired Penn State football doctor’s lawsuit - pennlive.com
A current BOT member embarrassing themself again. Nice temper tantrum during the stadium vote Barry!
 

Bvillebaron

Well-known member
Oct 12, 2021
1,362
1,439
113
Thanks. I have represented predominantly plaintiffs but sometimes defendants in discrimination and wrongful termination cases. If Lynch had a legitimate claim against Franklin, his lawyer shouldn’t have blown the statute of limitations.
Actually have to revise my early comments since I read the original complaint last night. Lynch filed a whistleblower lawsuit based on PA’s whistleblower statute. Never involved in any whistleblower cases but as I read the statute, Lynch has no claim against Franklin since the statute clearly states that no EMPLOYER shall retaliate against a whistleblower. Lynch’s lawyer pled an alleged civil conspiracy claim against PSU and Franklin and claims of violation of public policy against the two defendants, Hershey Medical Center and Dr. Black. Again never involved in whistleblower cases but in my experience if you don’t have a good claim against someone be sure to include a civil conspiracy claim.
 

Nitt1300

Well-known member
Oct 12, 2021
4,138
7,764
113
Why would I? Much like many tools in life, when used properly it's great. When used negatively, it's not.
I suspect you haven't bothered to try the former.
I never bothered with either, and I'm not planning to start.
 

step.eng69

Well-known member
Oct 12, 2021
2,429
3,440
113
Interesting money involved with the lawsuit against Penn State and others:

John Luciew | [email protected]

The compensation plans for Penn State Health’s orthopedic surgeons were put under the microscope Thursday at the trial for fired Penn State football doctor Scott Lynch.

Dr. Fred Hyde, a healthcare finance expert with 50 years’ experience, scrutinized Lynch’s compensation plans for various years before and after his appointment as orthopedic consultant for Penn State football and medical director for Penn State Athletics. Lynch remains employed by Penn State Health.

Under questioning from Steven Marino, Lynch’s attorney, Hyde concluded that Lynch lost as estimated $772,000 in missed bonuses after he was ousted from his dual roles with Penn State Athletics in March 2019.

Lynch claims his ouster followed repeated clashes with head football coach James 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

MORE: Saquon Barkley, Trace McSorley could take stand in fired Penn State football doc’s trial

Hyde, who was qualified as an expert on “money and medicine” by Dauphin County Court Judge Andrew Dowling, testified that the increases in Lynch’s $517,000 base salary amounted to about $25,000 total from 2019-24 not enough to cover cost of living increases in that span. Hyde estimated Lynch would have needed to earn $75,000 in raises in that period just to keep up with inflation.

Hyde described the market for orthopedic surgeons in the Hershey area as oversaturated, making it more difficult for Lynch to build back his clinical practice after being relieved of his Penn State Athletics duties. Lynch’s Penn State work accounted for about half of the credits toward his annual bonus, estimated to be about 16 percent of his base salary, Hyde testified.

Hyde testified that it takes about 14,000 people to support just one orthopedic surgeon. Within 10 miles of Hershey, there are about 270,000 people and a whopping 85 orthopedic surgeons in practice. That leaves just 3,000 people to support each of those surgeons.


“How are you going to get your (surgical) volume back to double?” Hyde testified. “This is a very steep hill. Not only are you set back; you are instantly impoverished. You’ve got a very uphill battle.”

Marino described Lynch’s situation this way: “They sent him back to Hershey, take away all his credit (from his Penn State Athletics duties toward his bonus) and start from zero. He has to generate business. He has to do surgeries. How’s that supposed to happen in a saturated market?”


Defense attorney Sarah Bouchard, representing Penn State Health, suggested the 2017 bonus that Hyde used to calculate Lynch’s $772,000 in losses was an “outlier” because it included a “one-time premium.”

Hyde responded that it was “not an irresponsible estimate.”

Bouchard said if Hyde used Lynch’s 2018 bonus of $23,000, the estimated losses would only amount to about $200,000. She also pointed out that Lynch did receive some incentive money even after being removed from his Penn State Athletics duties.

Under this questioning, Hyde maintained that his calculations of Lynch’s losses correctly captured the “magnitude of the punishment inflicted upon him,” adding:

“The problem that Dr. Lynch had is he was summarily dismissed,” Hyde testified. “The penalty was inflicted upon him.”
 
Last edited:

Grant Green

Well-known member
Oct 12, 2021
1,628
2,436
113
Says someone posting on this board (which in reality is just as stupid as Twitter, Instagram, etc.). Just saying. And yes, I am also posting on this board.
That's the irony here. Twitter is essentially a huge message board, not that unlike this one. It's a bunch of people posting topics and then people commenting on them. The biggest differences are that Twitter is harder to moderate due to its size (not good) and you can filter the content that shows up in your feed (good).
 
  • Like
Reactions: WVilleLion23

Bvillebaron

Well-known member
Oct 12, 2021
1,362
1,439
113
Interesting money involved with the lawsuit against Penn State and others:

John Luciew | [email protected]

The compensation plans for Penn State Health’s orthopedic surgeons were put under the microscope Thursday at the trial for fired Penn State football doctor Scott Lynch.

Dr. Fred Hyde, a healthcare finance expert with 50 years’ experience, scrutinized Lynch’s compensation plans for various years before and after his appointment as orthopedic consultant for Penn State football and medical director for Penn State Athletics. Lynch remains employed by Penn State Health.

Under questioning from Steven Marino, Lynch’s attorney, Hyde concluded that Lynch lost as estimated $772,000 in missed bonuses after he was ousted from his dual roles with Penn State Athletics in March 2019.

Lynch claims his ouster followed repeated clashes with head football coach James 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

MORE: Saquon Barkley, Trace McSorley could take stand in fired Penn State football doc’s trial

Hyde, who was qualified as an expert on “money and medicine” by Dauphin County Court Judge Andrew Dowling, testified that the increases in Lynch’s $517,000 base salary amounted to about $25,000 total from 2019-24 not enough to cover cost of living increases in that span. Hyde estimated Lynch would have needed to earn $75,000 in raises in that period just to keep up with inflation.

Hyde described the market for orthopedic surgeons in the Hershey area as oversaturated, making it more difficult for Lynch to build back his clinical practice after being relieved of his Penn State Athletics duties. Lynch’s Penn State work accounted for about half of the credits toward his annual bonus, estimated to be about 16 percent of his base salary, Hyde testified.

Hyde testified that it takes about 14,000 people to support just one orthopedic surgeon. Within 10 miles of Hershey, there are about 270,000 people and a whopping 85 orthopedic surgeons in practice. That leaves just 3,000 people to support each of those surgeons.


“How are you going to get your (surgical) volume back to double?” Hyde testified. “This is a very steep hill. Not only are you set back; you are instantly impoverished. You’ve got a very uphill battle.”

Marino described Lynch’s situation this way: “They sent him back to Hershey, take away all his credit (from his Penn State Athletics duties toward his bonus) and start from zero. He has to generate business. He has to do surgeries. How’s that supposed to happen in a saturated market?”


Defense attorney Sarah Bouchard, representing Penn State Health, suggested the 2017 bonus that Hyde used to calculate Lynch’s $772,000 in losses was an “outlier” because it included a “one-time premium.”

Hyde responded that it was “not an irresponsible estimate.”

Bouchard said if Hyde used Lynch’s 2018 bonus of $23,000, the estimated losses would only amount to about $200,000. She also pointed out that Lynch did receive some incentive money even after being removed from his Penn State Athletics duties.

Under this questioning, Hyde maintained that his calculations of Lynch’s losses correctly captured the “magnitude of the punishment inflicted upon him,” adding:

“The problem that Dr. Lynch had is he was summarily dismissed,” Hyde testified. “The penalty was inflicted upon him.”
Interesting testimony by Dr. Black yesterday. Said O’Brien was behind Sebastianelli’s firing in 2013. Never understood that move since he was situated in State College and is the person responsible for Talifero being able to walk today. Says Joyner told him O’Brien wanted Sebastianelli out and if Black wouldn’t find a replacement, he would hire someone from the University of Virginia if necessary. IMHO re-hiring Sebastianelli in 2019 was the logical thing to do since he should never have been fired in the first place.
 

Nitt1300

Well-known member
Oct 12, 2021
4,138
7,764
113
That's the irony here. Twitter is essentially a huge message board, not that unlike this one. It's a bunch of people posting topics and then people commenting on them. The biggest differences are that Twitter is harder to moderate due to its size (not good) and you can filter the content that shows up in your feed (good).
yep, a small board where everyone has a common interest in PSU vs a huge board of who knows who- from who knows where spreading misinformation from every corner of the globe- yeah they look exactly the same
 

Grant Green

Well-known member
Oct 12, 2021
1,628
2,436
113
yep, a small board where everyone has a common interest in PSU vs a huge board of who knows who- from who knows where spreading misinformation from every corner of the globe- yeah they look exactly the same
Ok, fair enough. How about just not calling people idiots for things they enjoy. Have a nice day.
 

GrimReaper

Well-known member
Oct 12, 2021
5,764
7,920
113
Interesting testimony by Dr. Black yesterday. Said O’Brien was behind Sebastianelli’s firing in 2013. Never understood that move since he was situated in State College and is the person responsible for Talifero being able to walk today. Says Joyner told him O’Brien wanted Sebastianelli out and if Black wouldn’t find a replacement, he would hire someone from the University of Virginia if necessary. IMHO re-hiring Sebastianelli in 2019 was the logical thing to do since he should never have been fired in the first place.
I think that Dr. Black may be pretty gullible.
 

Bvillebaron

Well-known member
Oct 12, 2021
1,362
1,439
113
That he took anything Fester said at face value.
Well maybe you could explain to us who was responsible for Sebastianelli,who was the team doctor for years, is responsible for Talifero being able to walk today, has offices and operating privileges in State College, being replaced in 2013 by a doctor with offices in Hershey and no operating privileges in State College. I’ll wait.
 

GrimReaper

Well-known member
Oct 12, 2021
5,764
7,920
113
Well maybe you could explain to us who was responsible for Sebastianelli,who was the team doctor for years, is responsible for Talifero being able to walk today, has offices and operating privileges in State College, being replaced in 2013 by a doctor with offices in Hershey and no operating privileges in State College. I’ll wait.
Uh, Fester????