Penn State’s James Franklin will spend the entire college football season separated from his family.
Franklin’s daughter was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia in 2014. Sickle Cell Anemia affects the red blood cells in the body, which would make her immunocompromised. This would put her in the high-risk category and could cause serious complications if she were to contract COVID-19.
The family will stay in Florida, while he spends the season in Happy Valley, coaching the Nittany Lions.
ESPN: “I have two daughters,” Franklin said. “My one youngest daughter has sickle cell disease, so it’s changed dynamics in our family. My wife and kids are going to stay in Florida for the season. And I’m going to be in Happy Valley just because we think that’s the right thing to do for my daughter with sickle cell. There was a lot of tears. There was a lot of emotion having this conversation with my daughters. So a lot of heartache over it.””
Gotta respect James Franklin for this move. That’s his true East Stroudsburg University Warrior spirit showing. ESU’s motto is “Prepare to serve” or at least it was when Franklin was there. I’d say that all of the “We Are Penn State” nation owes the East Stroudsburg family a big thank you, for one of our guys bringing them back to glory.
We’ll see if the NCAA season happens and if it does, what it looks like.
P.S. Florida is literally INFESTED with COVID-19 right now. Probably not the right place to send your family to avoid it, Jimmy.