James Franklin Claims He Lied to Team About Seeing Video in Vanderbilt Rape Case

Former Vanderbilt head football coach James Franklin, who is the current head coach at Penn State, testified in an alleged rape hearing for two of his players at Vanderbilt on Wednesday. During the testimony, he admitted to lying about seeing video of the alleged incident.

Lori Mitchell of WKRN ABC News in Nashville provided the details of Franklin's testimony on Twitter:

The players at the center of the alleged rape are Brandon Vandenburg, Brandon Banks, JaBorian McKenzie, and Cory Batey. Today's hearing was for Vandenburg and Batey.

Vandenburg's testimony on Wednesday offered one big piece of news according to Lucas L. Johnson II of The Associated Press:

"

Brandon Vandenburg said former Vanderbilt head coach James Franklin and Kevin Colon, assistant athletic director, said his scholarship would be in jeopardy if he didn't cooperate. Vandenburg said police officers who questioned him also told him he would lose the scholarship if he didn't cooperate.

"I felt I was going to lose everything I worked so hard for," Vandenburg said at a hearing to consider motions before his trial. The hearing will continue Thursday.

"

In August 2013, Brian Haas and Jeff Lockridge of The Tennessean reported that the players were "charged with five counts each of aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated sexual battery."

According to a September 2013 report from Bobby Allyn of BuzzFeed, a source with ties to one of the players involved in the alleged incident "said he believes that Franklin encouraged a player to delete a video of the incident after the player showed it to Franklin."

The source is also quoted in the report as saying, "I’m 99.9 percent sure that Franklin saw the video." Franklin's attorney, Hal Hardin, speaking on behalf of his client said, "Coach Franklin denies that emphatically."

During the testimony on Wednesday, the defense asked whether or not Franklin saw the video, per Tony Gonzalez of The Tennessean:

Hayley Mason of WSMV-TV in Nashville provided Franklin's rationale for lying to the team about seeing the video:

Franklin also provided a timeline of when he learned about the alleged rape, noting that he was on vacation and that the school provided a directive for him to follow, via Gonzalez:

Also, Franklin testified that the players attempted to make their case in his office only for him to let them know he couldn't discuss it and to give them a message, via Mitchell:

At Franklin's introductory press conference to Penn State in January, university president Rodney Erickson told reporters that Franklin went "through the most thorough vetting process that any individual has gone through at the university," via Chip Minemyer of the Centre Daily Times. 

Franklin, 42, left Vanderbilt after three years, compiling a 24-15 record with the Commodores.