Reminding us just how swiftly time can move on, 10 years have passed since the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal nearly destroyed the Penn State football program and ended coach Joe Paterno’s acclaimed career with disgrace.
The Nittany Lions have since recovered on the field under coaches Bill O’Brien and James Franklin, returning to college football prominence. But the victims of Sandusky’s abuse are still dealing with the trauma they suffered.
The Mayor of Maple Avenue, a new podcast from Meadowlark Media and Advance Local, takes a different angle on the Sandusky scandal, recounting and following up on the story through one of his victims. The podcast series features reporting from Sara Ganim, who broke the original story on Sandusky while working for the Patriot-News (an Advance Local publication) in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She eventually won a Pulitzer Prize with the Patriot-News staff for coverage of the scandal.
Ganim appeared on Dan Le Batard’s South Beach Sessions podcast to talk about The Mayor of Maple Avenue and the story of Shawn Sinisi, one of Sandusky’s victims who eventually died from an opioid overdose. Naturally, Le Batard and Ganim discussed the beginning of her involvement in covering the story. Not a big sports fan, Ganim was surprised at how fiercely locals defended Sandusky and the Penn State program as her reporting began.
Reporter Sara Ganim explains she underestimated the fierce fandom and loyalty Penn State fans showed as she covered the Jerry Sandusky scandal: pic.twitter.com/lbyQTKYbak
— Clips & Quips (@Clipselberry) November 12, 2021
“I was a little surprised at the number of people, at the time, who were willing to set aside the clearly stated facts of the case,” Ganim told Le Batard, “out of emotion or devotion, attachment to what really, at the end of the day, amounts to a couple of colors and a stadium in a specific location. It was a little surprising to me how much people emotionally attached themselves to these teams. I guess I wasn’t quite prepared for that mindset.”
Ganim admitted that she wasn’t looking to revisit the Sandusky story or its repercussions. But when Mary Anne Sinisi contacted her, she realized there was more that needed to be told, especially in regards to how these abuse victims and drug addicts were being failed by the system that was supposed to help them.
Sara Ganim wan’t looking to revisit the Jerry Sandusky story, but hearing from the mother of one of his victims convinced her there was more to tell: pic.twitter.com/Hfg3H8Nna3
— Clips & Quips (@Clipselberry) November 12, 2021
Ganim’s work might seem even more impressive considering how young she was at the time. She was in her early 20s (winning the Pulitzer at 24 years old), working her second newspaper job out of college. But as she explained to Le Batard, she loves being a reporter and realized the value in covering stories important to small-town communities that may not get picked up by national outlets.
Le Batard’s conversation with Ganim isn’t entirely about the Sandusky case and the Maple Avenue podcast, and the entire interview is worth your time. The two also discuss distrust of media and the current state of journalism with large conglomerates controlling local newspaper and TV coverage.
The Mayor of Maple Avenue is available on your podcast platform of choice, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
