In the Lions' Den: The Penn State Scandal and a Rush to Judgment

by Graham Spanier

In the Lions’ Den tells the true story of a scandal at Penn State University that unfairly resulted in the firing of the nation’s most successful and admired collegiate football coach and the respected president of the university. The book chronicles a criminal justice system run amok, political vindictiveness and retribution, moral panic, and the influence of a twisted media narrative. It is, in short, the anatomy of a smear, a memoir told by the university president who lost his job after an outstanding career in higher education. The story, which is so outlandish that it would be impossible to make up, involves villains and heroes, fear and bravery, the rehabilitative value of friends and family, and coping with adversity.

Genres: Nonfiction, Football, True Crime, College

512 pages, Hardcover

Published September 1, 2022

About the author

GRAHAM SPANIER served as president of The Pennsylvania State University from 1995 to 2011. His previous positions include chancellor of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Oregon State University, and vice provost for undergraduate studies at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He served as chair of the Association of American Universities, the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities, The Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors, and the NCAA Division I Board of Directors. He served on the National Counterintelligence Working Group, the Board of the Naval Postgraduate School and U.S. Naval War College, and was chair of the National Security Higher Education Advisory Board. He has presented through the U.S. on issues of national security and currently consults in the area of intelligence and risk management. He is a magician, musician, and is active on the racquetball courts.

Reviews

[Brian Katz · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read. It was really great to read Graham’s perspective on the events that unfolded beginning in November 2011 that changed Penn State forever. Dr. Spanier had access to all of the records over the years and was able to look back at the hidden forces that were plotting against him and the University. It turns out that the Governors office (Corbett ), the AG, Lewis Freeh, the NCAA as well as the some of the Board of Trustees colluded to achieve a result that made no sense at all to Penn State alumni looking from the outside in. This was simply not the University that we loved.

This book was very well thought out and written with a lot of care. Dr. Spanier explored many aspects of this tragedy for the reader such as: the moral panic / the media, the legal process / corruption at the AG, the Paterno’s, Gary Schultz and Tim Curley, Penn State’s Athletic culture and University procedures, Governor Corbetts vendetta against Spanier, the Freeh report and rebuttal, his national security clearance, the NCAA sanctions, his incarceration and much more.

I am very confident from everything that I have read (and John Zieglers podcast) that Dr. Spanier, Gary Schultz, Tim Curley and Joe Paterno did nothing wrong. The media moral panic forced the Board of Trustees to pass judgment on this matter without the benefit of an investigation. Fours days is all that it took. The Board of Trustees then hired Louis Freeh to write a report that supported what they did. Freeh’s report was then used by the NCAA to issue sanctions to the University. A complete and disgusting farce.

[Erika Jean · Rating 1 out of 5]

I pre-ordered the audiobook and started listening as soon as it came out. The upside to listening to the audiobook meant that I could hear him speak the words as he truly meant them. The downside of the audiobook was that I had to listen to his smug voice lament about the lack of recognition he has received for his “gracious” actions as the Penn State President.

This is not so much an “anatomy of a smear,” as he put it, but instead a Boomer’s ranting Facebook post. This reads somewhat like a Buzzfeed listicle as he spends much of the book outlining his life accomplishments and his many apparent claims to fame.

Among some of the more entertaining stories:

1. Spanier’s family was involved in hiding Nelson Mandela prior to his arrest
2. Spanier was selected as a director for the non-existent “US Office of Families” (but was never announced because Carter lost his re-election campaign)
3. Tom Corbett, the then PA governor, viewed Spanier as a political rival and publicly celebrated his “demise” at American Ale House in State College (great food, and, unlike this book, I 10/10 recommend)

The list goes on and on. I don’t know anything is true or false, but, either way, this list is insane. This also doesn’t even cover the dozens and dozens awards/praises/acknowledgments he claims to have received throughout his academic career.

Also included are the names of seemingly every person who has wronged him since January of 2011. Him listing out his personal grievances with them all was also very entertaining.

Among the pettiest:
1. He is the only PSU president not to have a portrait displayed in the administration building (I believe he’s referring to Old Main)
2. He couldn’t juggle with the performing magician organization anymore
3. He had to give back his “lion suit” once he was fired

This book was intended to expose some vast government/academic conspiracy, but instead highlights the reason for his well-earned downfall: he fostered a culture at Penn State where no one gave enough of a shit about these kids to ask obvious questions or pursue necessary action. He was licensed/certified as a therapist. He had no excuse. He didn’t care then and, as he wrote an entire book about he being the real victim, he doesn’t care now.

Short and sweet: Graham Spanier glorifies himself, which is entertaining/embarrassing as hell, but lacks any real reflection or remorse for his actions (and inaction) that, at the very least, allowed Jerry Sandusky to continue sexually abusing young boys.

[Jocelyn Antol · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this book highlighted several facts I didn’t previously know, it’s repetitive — there are SEVERAL times where the author mentions his career accomplishments, name drops connections or brags about how many people contacted him to offer support. I gained perspective on certain matters by reading this book (perspective I didn’t have as a student at Penn State during the time of the scandal because I was surrounded by so much chaos), but the way this was written distracts from these points. I wish I could shorten this book to include the facts about how the courts and politicians truly did fail on several occasions throughout the Sandusky scandal and eliminate the numerous references to the author’s achievements and details that are clearly meant to draw pity from the reader. There is a lot of good truth in this book, but it’s overshadowed by the author repeatedly telling the reader how great he is and how sorry you should feel for him.

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was WAY too long. The author starts out with an extremely detailed history of himself, which was not very interesting. Most of the book is about the injustice of the legal system in Pennsylvania and how courts, lawyers, judges, prosecutors and others ignored the “truth.”

I was amazed how Spanier thought that all he had to do was talk to a prosecutor or judge and they would see the truth and do what was right.

I was also amazed how whomever was on Spanier’s side was always the best of humanity and how whomever did not see the “truth” was a scumbag. It might help to lower the love fest he has for himself and give his arm a rest from patting himself for the thousands of wonderful things he accomplished in his life.

[Pat Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I’ve read. Well written, thorough and compelling. Should be a must read for anyone interested in the justice system, politics, journalism and sports hierarchy. Mr. Spanier has done a remarkable job conveying the convoluted journey of himself and Penn State.

[Jason Maas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely detailed and thorough account of the ordeal that the Pennsylvania legal and judicial system subjected former PSU president Spanier to. His memory and attention to detail are fantastic! This book added some helpful pieces to the puzzle of the Sandusky case, especially regarding interactions with Penn State Trustees in that critical first week of the moral panic. It also sheds more light on the character and roles of Joe Paterno, Tim Curley and Gary Schultz in the situation.

This book pairs extremely well with John Ziegler's podcast "With the Benefit of Hindsight" and Mark Pendergrast's book "The Most Hated Man in America", both of which directly address the question of Sandusky's guilt and share much more information about journalistic and therapist incompetence and fraud. Spanier doesn't directly address the question of Sandusky's guilt in his book because he feels like he doesn't know enough to make an informed judgement. That's fair, and an example more people ought to follow! However, he makes it clear that it's obvious that Sandusky wasn't given a fair trial and that the vast majority of people involved with the prosecution and judging of everyone involved were corrupt and/or incompetent. So make of that what you will...

Spanier makes an incredibly detailed case for the astounding extent of corruption in the Pennsylvania judicial system, from the state Attorney General's office to other prosecutors and investigators to the head of the state police and even numerous judges. And of course the governor at the time, Tom Corbett, does not come out smelling like roses. There are so many details in this book that are infuriating, bizarre, and horrific. Pray that you're never falsely accused and subjected to the legal threats and legal "torture" (my word, not his) that Spanier and other innocent men were subjected to. Even with some of the best lawyers money can buy and all evidence and reason on your side, if powerful people in PA want to ruin your life there's precious little you can do.

It's not a pleasant or fun book, but it's an important book. Let's learn from Spanier's account and hold our leaders, prosecutors and judges to a higher standard. A *much* higher standard!

[Judy Speedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This memoire, from one of the central figures in the Sandusky scandal, gives a look at what it was like to be within the firestorm of a scandal for over a decade. In the future, when history looks back at what happened and how the University, the NCAA and the legal and justice systems handled this horrendous episode this book will present a look at some of the failures that occurred in the pressures of the moment--rush to judgement, lack of crisis management on the part of the Board of Trustees, opportunism by the NCAA president, media focus on a theme of "hero with feet of clay" rather than an indepth reporting, incompetent legal help and especially how political gain seemed to be at the base of it all.

Although Spanier makes his case, sometimes too empatically, the real take away is how much needs to be done in promoting social justice, especially for the poor and lower social classes. If even a person of stature and means can be caught up in a spiraling set of circumstances, how with those without means ever break those bounds?

[Mary DeFusco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, the WHOLE Story

Graham Spanier writes an engaging story from his perspective of the sad saga of a rush to judgment. What most people “know” about the Sandusky scandal is a lie made up by ambitious prosecutors. Why do they do it? Because it works. Anyone reading this book today will see how well it works. Sometimes it’s the Catholic Church, this time it was Penn State, but prosecutors do these things because it successfully advances their political career. The Duke scandal was an exception only because the forensic analyst refused to go along with the prosecutor’s lie. Otherwise, it would have been the Catholic Church, Penn State & Duke. This is not to say that rapes and molestations don’t happen, but that ambitious prosecutors lie to blow those situations all out of proportion and judges do nothing to stop them.

[Janecope · Rating 1 out of 5]

I always feel guilty when I start a book and don't finish it. I couldn't make is beyond two hundred pages.

Unfortunately, Dr. Spanier's account of the Sandusky scandal at Penn State couldn't hold me. There may very well be a tale of political vendettas and political shenanigans, poor leadership, and illegal wrongdoings. I found the narrative dull.

Dr. Spanier is a noted academic and authority on higher education. Perhaps for this, he needed a co-author to help bring his memoir more accessible to the average reader.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please show me a book that was more thoroughly researched, organized and revealing than this one!
Every lawyer and politician in Pennsylvania should be required to read this before taking their bar exams or being allowed in office!
Dr. Spanier does an amazing job of controlling his emotions while responding to and clarifying one of the most heinous, travesties of justice in Pennsylvania's history.
This needs to become a documentary!
Rev. Richard I. Kepler

[Daniel DeLappe · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have never read a book where the author is this full of shit. This is written by a typical bureaucrat
who spends his career buying into his own bullshit then when caught with his balls hanging out instead of taking responsibility for his actions he tells you who he knows and everything was some else's fault. This book pissed me off'.

[Diane DiPiero Rodio · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to put this book down at times simply because it brought back memories of the way in which my alma mater treated Spanier, Paterno and others during the Sandusky incident. The book can get too wordy, but overall it does a good job of painting the picture from Spanier's perspective.

[Donna Maloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was an eye opening book . I thought I knew about the scandal but I had no idea the corruption on key politicians and key lawyers. It was well written.

[Sandra Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

😢

[Michael Cawley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating memoir of Graham Spanier’s experience during the Sandusky Scandal. He argues that they were told about “horseplay” not sexual abuse.

[Sheali Hannigan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can’t finish it. I tried reading it and I also tried listening. Just far too detailed for me to follow along.

[Kirk LaTorre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very eye opening to the corrupt justice system.

[Amanda Newton · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok. Just ok. Lots of repetitive stories. But I did learn a lot regarding how messed up the judicial and criminal justice systems are in this country.

[Harry N. Barfoot III · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Spanier provides a highly detailed account not only of the rush to judgement but the rush to drag senior leadership at Penn State, including the legendary coach Joe Paterno, proclaiming their guilt without facts, in an attempt to unfairly target and discredit them in the Sandusky scandal.

Anyone interested in knowing first-hand how the then President of Penn State was treated, and a lesson in how a terrible miscarriage of justice could become the primary narrative, should read Dr. Spanier's book.

[Luke V · Rating 2 out of 5]

I believe Graham Spanier when he says there was a rush to judgment. I've experienced being on the end of a crowd criticizing me for something they know little about. I also think this book reads as a screed. I couldn't finish it. There's a remarkable lack of reflection here... really, he doesn't take any ownership of what happened? And all of these other folks were out to get him? That's hard to believe.