Penn State has officially filed to have a lawsuit submitted by a former player accusing members of the program of ignoring or conducting acts of hazing within the football program. According to a report from The Collegian, the student newspaper at Penn State University, Penn State has filed to have two counts of negligence and one count of negligent infliction of emotional distress tossed by the court.
Former Nittany Lion Isaiah Humphries filed a lawsuit in January accusing Penn State and head coach James Franklin of ignoring hazing by a handful of players on the roster, including defensive tackle Damion Barber. Humphries claimed to be the target of hazing conducted by Barber and NFL-bound Yetur Gross-Matos and linebackers Micah Parsons and Jesse Luketa. According to the lawsuit filed by Humphries, complaints and concerns were given directly to Franklin and other members of the Penn State coaching staff with no further action taken, allegedly.
Humphries transferred from Penn State to California in 2019 after being a part of Penn State’s Class of 2018. He claimed to leave Penn State in part due to the alleged lack of action taken by Franklin after addressing his concerns with the head coach. Multiple players on Penn State’s roster have vehemently denied Humphries’ claims through the use of social media.
Penn State previously stated the claims were investigated by university officials and Penn State police. The Centre County District Attorney’s office decided not to press any charges following a review of the police investigation into the claims.