Penn State coach James Franklin says his family will remain in Florida while he coaches the Nittany Lions to protect his 12-year-old daughter, who suffers from sickle cell disease. Matthew O'Haren-USA TODAY Sports

Penn State coach James Franklin to isolate away from his family for the season

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 6/24/20

If there's a standard 2020 college football season this fall amid the coronavirus pandemic, Penn State head coach James Franklin will spend the bulk of it away from his immediate family.

As ESPN's Andrea Adelson reported, Franklin told HBO's "Real Sports" that his family will remain in Florida while he coaches the Nittany Lions to protect his 12-year-old daughter, who suffers from sickle cell disease.

That makes her immunocompromised and at-risk as COVID-19 cases rise throughout the United States.

"There was a lot of tears," Franklin told "Real Sports" about what had to be a painful and difficult decision. "There was a lot of emotion having this conversation with my daughters."

Franklin and his family have isolated since the virus outbreak spread across the country in March.

Last week, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci said the NCAA and NFL should adopt a "bubble" format — similar to models embraced by the NHL and NBA — to begin and complete football seasons this fall.

Zac Wassink is a football and futbol aficionado who is a PFWA member and is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment. Erik Lamela and Eli Manning apologist. Chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. Whoops. You can find him on Twitter at @ZacWassink.

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