James Franklin testimony

Penn State coach James Franklin testifies via Skype in the rape case involving four of his former players.

(Screen grab, WKRN video)

Penn State football coach James Franklin today testified via Skype in the trial of four Vanderbilt players who have been charged with rape in a June 2013 incident. Franklin reiterated his position that he had never seen cell phone video of the alleged rape, but did testify that he told the Vanderbilt team that he saw the video and that it was "disgusting."



Franklin told defense attorneys that he exited a meeting with Vanderbilt administrators and met with the team on June 25, where he spoke as if he had seen the raw video. Instead, he testified that he learned of the acts second-hand but opted to tell the players otherwise because he was "angry and upset" and did not want to "water down" his message.



"I had just gotten done meeting with the administration and I didn't want to go in and water my message down to the team," Franklin testified. "I didn't want to say 'I was told, I saw a video from somebody else.' That's what I did. I addressed the team and spoke as if I had seen the video because I was angry and upset and I didn't want to water down the message to them.



"I did talk about the video as if I had seen it, based on what was described to me from the administration. I didn't think that was the right way to deliver my message to the team at the time."



Franklin also said he was urged to "stay out of it" after learning of the incident and returning to the Nashville campus from a vacation in Florida. He said by the time he got back, the investigation was "basically taken over" by Vanderbilt and Nashville police.



The coach also denied making threats to any of the four defendants in the case, Brandon Vandenburg, Corey Batey, Jaborian "Tip" McKenzie and Brandon Banks. He said he had an impromptu meeting with all four after he learned of the incident, where he said they wanted to "plead their case."



"All I said to them was," Franklin testified, "'I can't talk to you about the case. You'd better take this very seriously. You should tell your parents, and you'd better be honest because you're going to be dealing with the consequences of this for the rest of your life,' and that was it."

Each of the four players has been charged with five counts of aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated sexual battery. All four men have pleaded not guilty in the case.

Previously on PennLive:

: Jones (Jan. 10)

: Thompson (Apr. 30)