The representative ran down a list of players, including the star quarterback, whose socks and shoes had recently been taped over to help stabilize previous injuries. The tape covered the Nike swoosh, and the representative wanted it stopped, court testimony showed.
Soon, the coach, James Franklin, began to interfere, requiring the trainer to provide a list of players who needed their ankles taped over their shoes, along with an explanation. The episode was just one instance that troubled Scott Lynch, the head team doctor, who had begun to feel that in the face of pressure from the coach and administrators, he was the only line of defense for the athletes. He complained to supervisors about the coach’s meddling with medical decisions. Ultimately, Dr. Lynch was removed from his position. Then he sued.
Last year a Pennsylvania jury awarded Dr. Lynch $5.25 million in damages for wrongful termination. The trial offered a rare glimpse into how a high-profile college football team handled decisions around injuries — and revealed the pressure on trainers and doctors to greenlight students to get back on the field, despite reservations.
During the trial, the jury heard nearly a dozen stories, many corroborated, from Dr. Lynch about what he saw firsthand as the head orthopedic surgeon for the Penn State athletic department and football team doctor.
The jury heard that Mr. Franklin had pressured Dr. Lynch to allow the former star running back Saquon Barkley, who had missed the previous game with a sprained ankle, to return without passing recovery protocols; urged Dr. Lynch to withhold information from a player with a knee injury so that he might return quickly; and suggested hanging a sign in the trainer’s room that read “the lazy, overweight, unmotivated and injured football player look the same.”
When Mr. Franklin yelled at him, ignored him or hung up on him, Dr. Lynch held his ground — until he was removed from his job in 2019.
Soon, the coach, James Franklin, began to interfere, requiring the trainer to provide a list of players who needed their ankles taped over their shoes, along with an explanation. The episode was just one instance that troubled Scott Lynch, the head team doctor, who had begun to feel that in the face of pressure from the coach and administrators, he was the only line of defense for the athletes. He complained to supervisors about the coach’s meddling with medical decisions. Ultimately, Dr. Lynch was removed from his position. Then he sued.
Last year a Pennsylvania jury awarded Dr. Lynch $5.25 million in damages for wrongful termination. The trial offered a rare glimpse into how a high-profile college football team handled decisions around injuries — and revealed the pressure on trainers and doctors to greenlight students to get back on the field, despite reservations.
During the trial, the jury heard nearly a dozen stories, many corroborated, from Dr. Lynch about what he saw firsthand as the head orthopedic surgeon for the Penn State athletic department and football team doctor.
The jury heard that Mr. Franklin had pressured Dr. Lynch to allow the former star running back Saquon Barkley, who had missed the previous game with a sprained ankle, to return without passing recovery protocols; urged Dr. Lynch to withhold information from a player with a knee injury so that he might return quickly; and suggested hanging a sign in the trainer’s room that read “the lazy, overweight, unmotivated and injured football player look the same.”
When Mr. Franklin yelled at him, ignored him or hung up on him, Dr. Lynch held his ground — until he was removed from his job in 2019.
