Carolina Panthers safety Sam Franklin Jr. is taking accountability for his post-game actions from Sunday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The aftermath of the 26-23 overtime defeat saw Franklin Jr., while being restrained, shouting towards the visitors’ locker room in the tunnel of Bank of America Stadium. This was the scene:
Sam Franklin heated after the game die the Carolina Panthers. Calling out No. 33 for Tampa Bay Bucs. pic.twitter.com/AWgDpwEkDs
— Dennis Cox (@TheFanRookie) December 2, 2024
Sam Franklin Jr. trying to get into the Bucs locker room after the game. pic.twitter.com/z51zHIdq2x
— Logan Campbell (@loganncampbelll) December 2, 2024
Franklin Jr., who spoke with reporters for the first time since the incident this afternoon, issued an apology for the incident:
Sam Franklin apologizes to fans and the organization for Sunday’s postgame outburst. #Panthers pic.twitter.com/oSLra2lZXz
— Sheena Quick (@Sheena_Marie3) December 4, 2024
This echoed the thoughts of head coach Dave Canales, who was asked about the altercation on Monday.
“Just know that we talked about it,” Canales replied. “He and I sat down this morning and just had that conversation. He’ll be the first to tell you that he shouldn’t do that, that it was a mistake.
“And we talked about just wanting to have passion, wanting to have edge and knowing where to tow that edge. And then come back to us, celebrate with us, talk to our teammates, keep our energy going on our side. We don’t have to give the opponent anything and that’s one of those things, too.”
