Penn State football players respond to hazing allegations, calling them ‘straight lies’ on Twitter

Former Penn State safety Isaiah Humphries — whose father, Leonard, played for Penn State before becoming a late-round NFL draft pick — filed a federal lawsuit Monday accusing several football players of hazing him during the 2018 season while the staff retaliated against him after reporting the allegations.

The eight-count, 46-page lawsuit filed in the U.S. Middle District Court of Pennsylvania seeks unspecified financial damages. It names head coach James Franklin and defensive lineman Damion Barber as defendants while also alleging that three other players were involved: DE Yetur Gross-Matos, LB Micah Parsons and LB Jesse Luketa.

Humphries made a number of accusations, some of which were graphic in nature. But Penn State police, the university’s student conduct office and sexual misconduct prevention and response office each investigated the allegations lodged by Humphries, university spokeswoman Lisa Powers said in a statement. And no charges were filed.

Former and current Penn State players took to Twitter on Tuesday to express their opinion on the matter, accusing Humphries — who transferred to Cal — as telling “straight lies” and labeling the lawsuit “nonsense.” Here’s what they said:

This story was originally published January 14, 2020 at 6:32 PM.