Graham Spanier Presentation/Book Signing for New Memoir: In the Lions’ Den: The Penn State Scandal and a Rush to Judgment
September 14th - 6PM
Classic Elements - 345 Main St. Johnstown, PA 15901
The Story
After sixteen years as president of Penn State, Graham Spanier found his life and career turned upside down almost overnight in November 2011 in a firestorm of breaking news concerning alleged child sexual abuse by Jerry Sandusky, a former Penn State assistant football coach. Little did Spanier know that his life would unravel in a nightmare of false accusations and labyrinthine legal proceedings stemming from a scandal surrounding a man he barely knew and who hadn’t been in Penn State’s employ since 1998. In the Lions’ Den is a personal memoir, told by a central figure caught up in the crush of those events. It reveals how and why the university and many individuals, including Spanier himself and legendary football coach Joe Paterno, were unfairly targeted in a colossal miscarriage of justice.
In the Lions’ Den exposes those who made false accusations, either for political or financial gain, including the former Director of the FBI, whose investigation was widely condemned; the governor of Pennsylvania who was voted out of office because of his central role in the matter; the grandstanding NCAA president who imposed penalties that would ultimately be reversed; an attorney general elected on a promise to investigate the injustice who would soon be sent to prison for her crimes emanating from the calamity; the grand jury judge who would be accused of wrongdoing in the saga by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court; the lead prosecutor whose license to practice law would be suspended by the supreme court for his malpractice; and the university’s general counsel who would be censured by the supreme court for her malfeasance in representing Penn State officials.
The book also touches on the infamous Pennsylvania “Porngate” scandal that revealed a pornography ring operated out of the Office of Attorney General by many of the same prosecutors, investigators, judges, and state police commissioner who relentlessly pursued Spanier.