Trace McSorley takes stand against ex-Penn State football team doctor at request of James Franklin

Penn State football letterman Trace McSorley testified Tuesday that he took the witness stand in the wrongful termination lawsuit of an ex-Nittany Lions team doctor after being asked by James Franklin. The ex-Penn State star quarterback and current NFL free agent said that, despite the request, Franklin did not influence his testimony, and that he is not “indebted” to his former head coach. Former team doctor Scott Lynch is suing Penn State Health, claiming that he was removed from his position after clashes with Franklin over the medical treatment of players.

Trace McSorley says testimony in ex-team doctor’s trial came at request of James Franklin

Trace McSorley took the stand Tuesday as a witness for the defense in the ongoing lawsuit of ex-Penn State football team doctor Scott Lynch. But according to the reporting of John Luciew of PennLive/TNS, many of the questions for McSorley dealt with who asked the former Nittany Lions quarterback to be there.

“Coach Franklin reached out about me being here today,” McSorley testified. “I respect Coach Franklin a lot. I wanted to be here.”

When pushed further, Trace McSorley denied that Franklin pushed his former quarterback to support him. “I wanted to be here and use my voice,” he said.

In addition to the Penn State football coach, McSorley said he spoke to members of the defense team and Franklin’s attorney. Due to a missed filing deadline, Franklin and Penn State athletics are not on the lawsuit.

Dr. Scott Lynch claims that he was fired from his role as the football program’s team doctor because of his clashes with Franklin, who he says repeatedly tried to influence medical decisions. These claims have been contested, even by Lynch’s medical supervisor at Penn State Health while he was in the position.

Trace McSorley was brought into the case via testimony last week that made reference to an injury he suffered in the 2019 Citrus Bowl. At first, McSorley was believed to have broken a bone in his foot during the game. Despite being ruled out, McSorley was cleared to return after a re-examination.

“I lobbied for myself to go back out and try to win that game,” McSorley said Tuesday. The quarterback noted that he had never seen James Franklin try to apply pressure on the medical staff regarding any injury sustained during his Penn State career.

“His first inclination was always to see how I’m doing,” McSorley said of Franklin. [Franklin would say things like,] ‘How’s the recovery going? How are you feeling? He was always asking me where I was, how I felt.'”

Is the ex-Penn State football quarterback indebted to his former coach?

Trace McSorley was a three-star prospect coming out of high school in the class of 2014. With many college programs wanting him to play defense, McSorley committed to Vanderbilt for the opportunity to play quarterback for James Franklin.

When Franklin came to Penn State in January of that year, McSorley soon followed. It was a wise decision; McSorley held most career records among Penn State quarterbacks by the time he left Happy Valley.

But despite being “eternally grateful” to Franklin, the quarterback would not describe his relationship with his former coach as “indebted.” This was the argument Dr. Lynch’s lawyers seemingly tried to pursue on Tuesday, questioning McSorley about a controversy regarding a Penn State Board of Trustees member last year.

McSorley was pictured in an apparent endorsement of Anthony Lubrano’s re-election, which he later rescinded. Lynch’s lawyers argued this was due to Lubrano’s “adverse” interests compared to Franklin’s.

While McSorley testified that he became aware of the misalignment of interests between Lubrano and Franklin, he claims the Penn State football coach never asked him to withdraw his endorsement. Instead, he said he did so because he felt the Board member pressured him into making a pledge by asking him to do so at his wedding reception.

Trace McSorley was the first of two former Penn State football stars expected to testify on Franklin’s behalf. Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is also expected to take the stand in defense of his former coach.

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