Game Over: Jerry Sandusky, Penn State, and the Culture of Silence

by Bill Moushey, Robert Dvorchak

The most comprehensive and explosive book on the worst scandal in the history of sports, Game Over investigates the devastating sexual abuse case that brought down Joe Paterno and forever tarnished the name of Penn State. In this incisive work of investigative journalism, Bill Moushey and Bob Dvorchak, along with Lisa Pulitzer, go behind the headlines, official statements, and court transcripts to tell the full story of the sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the nation—a tale of power, privilege, money, and politics that leads from the football building on the Penn State campus to the administration’s boardroom to the highest echelons of the state capital and beyond. Eye-opening and fast-paced,  Game Over  exposes the lies, willful ignorance, and cover-ups that may have allowed a sexual predator to use his position and status to prey on vulnerable young victims for years. Its explosive new discoveries shatter the illustrious image of “Happy Valley”—State College, Pennsylvania, home to one of the nation’s most successful and highly lucrative college football programs.

Moushey, Dvorchak, and Pulitzer craft a story that is as compelling as it is unsettling. Probing beneath the male-dominated football culture, they share the untold stories of the mothers and wives, the sisters and daughters associated with the scandal. They trace the rise and fall of hometown hero and national icon Joe Paterno—the Nittany Lion’s legendary head coach with the most wins in the history of college football, including two national championship titles—juxtaposing Penn State’s success and glory with the hidden anguish of former coach Jerry Sandusky’s accusers. As it details the rise and fall of the individuals associated with the scandal, it also makes clear the larger implications for the university, its vaunted football program, the community, and all of us.

An exploration of the messy morality of pride and loyalty, silence and bearing witness,  Game Over  will leave readers pondering their own values and their beliefs in right and wrong.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, Sports, Crime, History, Football, Education

205 pages, Hardcover

First published March 13, 2012

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

A contemporaneous account of the crimes of Jerry Sandusky and the immediate fallout (after years of buck-passing and alleged coverup, that is), which led - among other things - to the fall from grace of legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno. Somewhat harshly, Paterno is featured on the cover of Game Over, despite Sandusky's crimes against children forming the core of the book, and despite Paterno's hard-to-excuse response to reports of Sandusky's behaviour being little more than a footnote in the larger story of enablement and inaction. There were evidently people who knew more than Paterno did about what Sandusky was up to, and protecting children from him wasn't on their list of priorities. The studied indifference of men motivated by profit and prestige to basic moral principles is something the authors seem reluctant to fully explore. Indeed, the consequences of Sandusky's crimes for Paterno and co. are framed rather tragically. Boo hoo. Ultimately, Game Over seems scattershot, uneven, and repetitive, while failing to do justice to the actual victims of Sandusky and the indifferent actors behind him.

[Deacon Tom (Feeling Better) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Painful

This is a very powerful book full of pain, sorrow and violence against children. Yet, it is true.

It hurt me to reread the events that were part of my life.

[Jo Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was at Penn State in the late 80s. Long before I got there it was known as a football school. I didn't care for Penn State; I attended because I was paying for my education on my own and it was the only school I could afford that offered my program. I never drank the "Happy Valley" Kool-Aid. It was a big school in a small town and if you weren't there to study engineering, agro or football, you were just wasting your time.

Anyway, if you followed the Sandusky stories in the newspapers, you have already read this book. I didn't discover anything new. It WAS a good book and well-written and if you somehow managed to miss it the first time around, the book will fill you in nicely.

It ends before Sandusky's trial and it's obvious the book was rushed to print to capitalize on the scandal while still fresh.

I don't bleed blue and white. The football players I came into contact with were entitled and arrogant. I'm heartbroken that little kids got hurt but not surprised. Protect the king (JoePa and football)at all costs was the attitude at PSU and I truly believe all the stories. A lot more people beside Sandusky should be in jail.

[Jodi · Rating 1 out of 5]

First of all - you have a book about Jerry Sandusky and who's picture is on the front of the book...Joe Paterno. Because he sells more then a picture of Sandusky. As I'm reading how this scandal first started to come out I couldn't help being outraged over the flippant attitudes of the kids parents and school officials.
One parent saw her kid w/ wet hair and just settled for a scolding to Sandusky as repercussions. Another parent suspected things weren't right but admits (pg 64) "the boy thorourghly enjoyed the gifts he received from hia mentor. He also gained entry into the exclusive world of Penn State football because of his Sandusky connection. ...there were times when his mother became somewhat concerned at Sandusky's behavior ..she choose to let those issues go however because of the benefits her child was getting."
McQuery saw Sandusky with a child in the shower and walked out of the building. A school principal told a sobbing child to go home and rethink about things before filing a complaint about the sexual abuse. The high school let Sandusky pull kids out of classes and take them off campus -- all these people let these kids down. But the only thing everyone wants to scream about is that it was "Penn State's fault".....that high school principal is still employed at that school and McQuery has the audacity to blame the University because he can't get employed now.
I hope somehow during their lives these victims can begin to heal knowing that Sandusky will rot in prison for life.

[Jtfreeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have to liked to see some source notes (there are none) and the authors could've used a couple more months to clean things up a bit. That being said the book is a decent overview of the tragic happenings that occurred at Penn State over the last two decades. The Harrisburg Patriot-News won a Pulitzer for their coverage of the scandal and their outstanding work is readily available online.

[Bridget Morse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laboriously detailed story of the rise of Coach Paterno, financial & program success of Penn State football and the culture that valued the university & football program’s reputation above outing the sexual abuse of young boys by long term coach Jerry Sandusky.
Chilling events from the first knowledge of abuse and subsequent unexpected resignation of Sandusky, to the abuse and silencing of victims, witnesses and whistle blowers that continues to this day.
Left me troubled for days.

[Dawnielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Game Over is a well written account of the Sandusky and Penn State child molestation case. There are parts of the book that are tragic, hard to hear, and leave the reader wondering why more people didn't speak up to prevent this tragedy from happening. As society is learning more about these "monsters" that are among us, I feel, it is important to understand how they hide and groom their victims so we can all do more to prevent situations like this in the future.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lower end of three stars, mostly due to the timing than anything else. I found the story (horrifically) intriguing, but left disappointed that it was published before the case was resolved.

In a country that doesn’t really focus on American football, I didn’t know anything about this story, and picked this up thinking it would be a full report on what happened, start to finish. Alas, I needed to turn to Wikipedia to get the conclusion.

Two other comments:
1) The picture on the front is Paterno. As someone who didn’t know either of them, I assumed the man on the cover would be Sandusky, the man who’s name is in the title. Poor choice.

2) the book is repetitive in places, recounting victim stories and circumstances we’d touched on earlier. This makes sense now I realise the book doesn’t cover the resolution - gotta make up a reasonable page count somehow.

In sum - I did find the book interesting and revealing, but I can’t help but feel they should’ve waited until the trial was over.

[Christophe Landa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heartbreaking. It was a good glimpse into an organization (Penn State) that values an insular existence but showcases how that can be problematic when a monster is unleashed in your midst.

The book made me feel like Joe Paterno was a pretty good guy with his stances on leadership and encouraging so many of his players to think beyond the football field. That being said, many of our lives are defined by the one choice, for better or worse. It is unfortunate that Joe's legacy is overshadowed by this terrible event, but it was his inaction that led to this situation.

This showcases that when those in leadership do not empower those below them to do the right thing but rather focus on maintaining their image and the illness that perpetuates.

[Alexa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Might have been 3 stars if I read a hardcopy, but I did this one on audio and the narrator's odd pronunciations of people and places I knew threw me off (especially McQuae-ry, but also things like joe PA and belleFONT).

I followed the story of Jerry Sandusky and the firing of Joe Paterno etc as things unfolded in 2011-2012, so I was interested in the author's take on the culture of silence that allowed this to happen under our noses. Props for a shout out to the mystery of Ray Gricar.

Always fun to listen to a book and hear mentions of places/people you know. Nothing really new or surprising here, just a recap of what happened. I appreciated the background sections on Paterno and Sandusky.

[Colleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure how to take the lack of notations, so I'm going to assume this is highly editorialized. It's also not particularly well written, either. Seems rushed to print maybe?
It's a shame that someone seems to have capitalized on the tragedy of such a scandal and spends more time talking about the "glory" that is Penn State and it's "tragic downfall" then on the rot in an environment where such a thing can go unnoticed and unreported for so long. Hopefully stories like this help break the code of silence for institutions like Penn State, the Catholic Church, et al.

[Cristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read following the culture that allowed a man such as Jerry Sandusky to do the things he did. There are always accomplices in a decade long assault and this instance is no different. When boys as young as 10 get assaulted there is no gray area period. Hopefully Penn State has learned a valuable lesson from all this.

[Kes · Rating 2 out of 5]

maybe like a 2.5. got pretty repetitive, honestly felt like there was a whole chapter that could have been cut out. i also caught a couple of typos. for someone like me who knew nothing about the situation beforehand, it wasn’t a bad read. just not sure if i would recommend it to others

[Jake Fouch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the style and how intense it got at some points

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a good read, but written before the dust had settled. While they sided more with the victims, understandably, they also gave Jerry and his lawyer a voice.

[Tommy Stauter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was sort of a summary of the Jerry Sandusky case. No new information was included and the author didn’t give an opinion or synopsis of the evidence.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two books in one weekend!

Anyway, I'm giving this a lackluster score. There's nothing wrong with this book. Well... it gets repetitive in some cases, and sometimes the writing is very blatant. But I've given other books four stars before despite having these same faults, because they've offered things to make up for them.

Not so in this case. I suspect this will be a good primer for people who are new to this incident. But, well, State College was my home town and I was glued to coverage of this event. This book ultimate boils down to a paraphrasing of the Freeh report, news articles, and wikipedia pages on the main players involved. The only part that was new to me was how an investigator tracked down victims by using Sandusky's memoir.

Honestly, I just think that overviews of huge true crime events need to wait for at least a decade. And the Sandusky case spans decades and has tons of moving parts. This book tries to cover all the things it mentions in the title (plus Paterno) and it tries to do it in a rather small number of pages. Speaking of Paterno, the book's attitude towards him seems endemic of the problems inherent in writing a true crime overview months after the fact. Some chapters laud him. Others excoriate him. Sometimes both things happen in the same chapter; I basically give no fucks about Penn State football (in fact, State College's sports obsession made me miserable many times as a kid) but is it really any surprise that his funeral service made no mention of the Sandusky case? This kind of back and forth feels like the representation of the conflicting moods a lot of us felt in the months after the charges came to light. It lends it an odd quality of emotional verisimilitude, but it's still kind of... eh.

I would much rather have read the author's take on what the hell happened in that game of telephone between Patern and Schultz and Curley. But the book is silent on that, save saying that it happened. Actually, that's probably the BIGGEST fault of this book; lots of facts thrown at the reader, with very little analysis. Compare this to something like Columbine which has gotten critiqued, sure, but the author takes on massive amounts of primary evidence and brings his own hypotheses to the table. But that's probably easier to do once the dust has settled.

I can tell you right now that Penn State is fascinatingly weird place, with a lot of good and bad things about it. Someday we'll see a book or documentary that is as incisive as this topic deserves. But I think we'll need to wait a while for it.

[Kunal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a interesting read and is arguably one of the biggest criminal scandals in sports of all time. The book details in depth the various times where several people had caught Jerry Sandusky sexually molesting young kids who were part of his Second Mile Charity organization, and how they got reported to various individuals within Penn State, but how it never reached the proper police authorities.

In 1998, a graduate assistant on the football team saw Sandusky and a 10 year kid in the Penn State locker room with the boys hands up against a wall and he heard a slapping sound. He subsequently reported this to Paterno and Paterno reported this to the AD, but after Paterno's death the AD and president testified that Paterno said Mike Mcquery told him that it was just horseplay.

A few years later, a janitor claimed to see a similar incident in the mens lockerroom and reported this to his boss. His boss told him who the proper authorities were to notify this to if he wanted to, but the janitor declined to do anything as he was afraid he would lose his job.

Another incident consisted of when a young boy came home and told his mother about how Sandusky made him shower with him and rubbed his leg in the car. When the mother confronted him, Jerry said, "I wish I could die right now" and he continued to apologize. Somehow, when she reported this to the police, again they never took any action. It turned out that the police officer who this was reported to was actually Sandusky's next door neighbor.

No one can deny Paterno was a great coach. Having graduated from Brown on a full athletic scholarship and forgiving law school to follow his college coach over to Penn State to be his assistant, JoePa transformed the program. He put in place the "Grand Experiment" which represented only recruiting kids who were both athletic standouts and also Academic All Americans. He was the winningest coach in college football and owned the town of State college. However, when he was fired after the allegations and said, "I wish I would have done more", it is hard to argue that he wasn't fully aware of what Sandusky was up to and chose not to resolve the issue himself in order to preserve his and his organization's reputation of the highest morals.

JoePa's reputation has been ruined forever and rightfully so. No matter what he accomplished for that school, him allowing his former Defensive Coordinator who was a mastermind continue to be around campus with kids just shows that he was not as good of a guy as we all thought.

[Darren · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is such an important story ... that was so badly told in "Game Over". The book is extremely choppy, features several grammatical errors and you'll wonder at times if you have re-read pages.

I suspect this was rushed to the publisher and what happened appears to be chapters that were written independently and then dropped into book form. There are several stories that are repeated throughout the book and every time they're re-told as if we're first learning of them - the basement screams not heard by Dottie, the janitor who now has dementia, the McQueary account of telling his father, the fact that players stay at a hotel before their home games - all stories that were repeated throughout the book in painful detail every time.

In fact, the chapters detailing the pre-trial hearings are so painful as they rehash mostly everything already laid out in earlier chapters. It was painful to read from a moral point of view but also from a literary one.

There were some elements of the case that I wasn't aware of but for the most part this was a collection of journalist's stories (with no source notes at the back of the book!?) thrown into various chapters with little regard for continuity.

There were also omissions from the book including the irony surrounding Paterno's death and his consideration for retirement. Years before the crisis broke into the public light and Paterno considered retiring he told sports journalist Brent Musberger he was afraid to retire for fear he'd die shortly after retirement like his colleague Bear Bryant. Sure enough that's exactly what happened to Paterno when he was turfed by Penn State's board. That's the sort of stuff you put into books like these to add some colour!

The other glaring omission was the Sandusky verdict. Apparently the authors couldn't wait to release the book for another couple of months and wait for the verdict which makes this book not exactly a solid historical resource on the crisis. Keep it on the shelves.

It's a shame that this awful story wasn't told better in this book because it's a story that needs to be told.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Moushey and Dvorchak's book is obviously not the final authority on this tragic situation, but does shed a little light on the events leading up to the trial of serial child abuser Jerry Sandusky. The book was a little disjointed at times, with most information available coming from news reports and information that the public already had available. It did, however, give unflinching accounts of the abuse perpetrated by Sandusky on his victims - so sensitive readers should be forewarned. Discussion of Joe Paterno's involvement was minimal, and the focus seemed to be more on his coaching legacy and the rabid fanaticism and reverence of "JoePa" held by Penn State alumni and fans. The miscommunication and muddying of the waters by Penn State staff and administrators in charge of reporting the earliest of Sandusky's behaviors was deplorable and disheartening at best, and their collective mishandling of Sandusky's horrific behavior allowed a child sexual predator to continue to operate right under their noses.

I doubt that I will return to this story again, knowing that Sandusky has been convicted of his heinous crimes and the NCAA has levied its punishment on the university, however I don't believe the whole story has been (and maybe will never be) told. As for JoePa, I think the words that he uttered in his final days before passing were most telling - saying that he wished he could have done more. Wins, losses, and on-field successes aside, perhaps he would have earned his legacy if he had done just that. Instead i hope that we all learned a valuable lesson in all of this - and that is that he was just a man after all, and that protecting our children from evil is far more important than the idolatry associated with winning football championships.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall the book does a good job giving information about the Sandusky Scandal. It includes biographical information on Sandusky and other key parties to the scandal and investigation, most notably Joe Paterno. It discusses events starting from Paterno's youth through the end of 2012.

While the book summarizes a good deal of information, the author's personal feelings on several matters are extremely visible. This is well within the authors right - he did write the book after all. I was trying to find an impartial summary of events and this wasn't always impartial, though it is difficult to remain so in a matter ranging from law to ethics. The book also has segments praising Paterno or Penn State that sometimes seem out of place and over celebrated. One passage will speak to how amazing Paterno was while the next chapter will tear apart his involvement. Additionally, some segments of the book are extremely repetitive as they explain the same circumstances viewed at different times (such as an account of an event brought up chronologically, then when discovered during investigation, then again on another charge). It's likely written as so because many of the legal proceedings depend on prior events and statements, so it's hard to fault the author too much for this.

If you're interested in the scandal, Penn State, or the legal/ethical proceedings of this case and larger child abuse cases I'd recommend the book. If you aren't already interested in these things, the book will probably not hold your attention

[Christie · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I was going to get on my soap box and voice my opinion. But I think I will at least start with the book. I did find the book a bit repetitive, you where told the same thing the same way in a few different areas in the book. However I did learn more then I knew and I think that Moushey presents as much of the story as he could. I did find that it tried to shed a short of positive light on JoePa. However I left the book thinking he probably knew more than he let on...however was he okay once he reported it. It is such a complex situation with who knew and when they knew and who they told and what the authorities were or were not told and there is even missing people involved. I would like to end this review with a quote before I get on a soap box. "It's the act of one person. you can't condemn an entire university for it" (78). I will say I believe it is more that one person, but the acts of a group of people is punishing a whole university and everyone is letting it happen. I hope this review don't know make it sound like I don't care about what happened I think what occurred there is was disgusting and I can not put into words what I think should be done to Sandusky, but why punish more?

[Rich Meyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Game Over is a less-than-flattering look at the Penn State scandal. While it isn't as up-to-date as it could be, ending before the actual trial began, it does do a very good job elaborating on the "Culture of Silence" that pervades Penn State (and most universities that seem to value athletic superiority over academics). With the exception of one State Trooper, no one in the administrative or legal chain of commands really seemed to do their job here, all too afraid of rocking the boat that was Joe Paterno's now-justifiably blemished legacy.

The book is fairly well-written for one of these "tell-all" exposes, but as I said, does not follow the situation to the logical conclusion, nor does the book contain any updates on Jerry Sandusky's subsequent convictions and the righteous hammer leveled at Penn State by the NCAA.

Not a book for everyone, but a good look at how a child sex predator can work a system under the guise of nobility...and get away with it for decades because of being associated with a winning football team.

[Peebee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sure there was a big incentive to rush this book to market, but it could have really used an editor to whip the story into shape. It was a comprehensive compilation of all that has been revealed to date about Sandusky and the cover-up efforts which persisted for over a decade. But reading it was like reading all the newspaper accounts, or the grand jury indictment. There's not much of an effort to synthesize it. For example, there are at least ten victims who have come forward and whose stories were referenced in the grand jury indictment. I realize that their names have not been revealed, but even consistently referencing them as Victim A, B, etc. or choosing fictional aliases would have helped keep them straight, which it was hard to do when their stories were repeated throughout the book. Depending on how much you know about the scandal already, you may or may not learn much new...but it's horrifying reading nonetheless.

[Hal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fortunately I was able to pick this book up at the library and did not spend any money on it. I followed the development of this scandel closely as it broke over weeks late in 2011. The book itself adds very little to what came out in depth primarily through the reporting of the Harrisbug newspaper.

Devisive as the incident became on a national stage for those condeming the seeming closed society of the Happy Valley faithful who clung to the images all the cherished, one cannot elude the tradgedy especially endured by the real victims. Alleged of course as it still needs to work its way through the glacial legal system. The only accurate conclusion we can draw is that there will be no real winners as is oft the case in these matters, but some semblance of justice if charges are proven and punishment handed down.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book just repeated most of the facts revealed by the media during the Penn State debacle. I was hoping for more of a backstory. However, I did come away with a message. There was an Irish statesman named Edmund Burke who said,"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing" Jerry Sndusky was able to weave his web of evil for many years while good men saw or heard of his actions and did nothing. Because Jerry Sandusky had power of notoriety - school administrators, Paterno, McCreary, the janitor and the list goes on and on - good people- did nothing. I repeat, these good people did nothing. If there is any message from this book, I think it is a call to action for the good people to begin to speak up no matter the consequences. We should begin to applaude the whistleblowers and unveil evil when we see it. Don't you agree?

[PrairieReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this story heartbreaking. That the abuse of children by Jerry Sandusky was allowed to continue by the ranks at Penn State and The Second Mile is tragic. There is no doubt in my mind that had proper authorities been contacted after the first, if not the second, incident where Sandusky was virtually caught red handed molesting young boys, his continued abuse of further victims would not have happened. For Penn State to turn a blind eye is unconscionable. Sad, but not even equally close to the sad tale of sexual abuse, is that the legacy of good things that Joe Paterno accomplished will be forever be tainted by the one thing he didn't accomplish - protecting children from a serial predator.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with most of the other reviews I have read that this book would have benefitted greatly from a longer time in editing...there is so much repetition of discussion about some aspects of the case that a better editing job would have smoothed over. However, it was a good overview of this tragic situation and I am sure was rushed to press to coincide with the start date of the trial. I wish there had been more about how the school was dealing with all the issues involved, but I also know that information is probably under wraps until the trials of the two Penn State administrators are completed.

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

To my knowledge, this is the first book out about the Penn State/Jerry Sandusky scandal and it shows. Its poorly organized jumping from the history of Joe Paterno, win-loss records, family history of both Paterno and Sandusky, to basic and often scant information about the crimes against children and the cover up. Except for a few pages which discuss how Sandusky's crimes finally came to be investigated seriously, nothing new is provided. This book does a nice job of outlining the case and issues overall, but doesn't provide anything beyond the outline.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's so tempting to get trapped in wondering who knew what and when and how could nothing have been done. I appreciate books that give timelines, facts, and context to "unthinkable" acts and events. Here is the truth: we must stop thinking in terms of being shocked at what people do in their private lives. Most people do have a dark side-- not to the extent of Sandusky and Ted Bundy, but sociopaths are all around and inhabit every career and vocational calling. They are charming predators. Open your eyes and keep your children safe. Please and thank you.