Sandusky’s mistaken identity
Gerry Sandusky, the Baltimore football sportscaster, has been inundated with hate mail since the allegations of child sexual abuse surfaced against Jerry Sandusky at Penn State.
It’s been a tough couple of months for Gerry Sandusky, said Peter Schrager in Esquire. The Baltimore football sportscaster shares all but a single letter of his name with another, unrelated football personality—the onetime defensive coordinator at Penn State University accused of sexually abusing dozens of children. Gerry has been inundated with hate mail since the allegations became public, and has to explain constantly that he is unrelated to his infamous namesake. “Every time I show my license, give a credit card, whatever—the person on the other end does a double take.”
The worst impact may be on his ability to network, he says. “I was on the field the day after the news broke, and Dick Ebersol—the former head of NBC Sports, an absolute giant in my field—walks by,” he recalls. “So, I extend my hand, ‘Hey, I’m Gerry Sandusky.’ And I see him visibly flinch. Kind of a subtle flinch, but he definitely flinched.” Sandusky explained the confusion, but Ebersol “couldn’t get away from me fast enough.”
He’s tried to defuse the problem with humor, thanking his late mother on Twitter for spelling his first name with a G. “You can’t always control what the universe drops in your lap, but you can control how you handle it.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
How the woke right gained power in the US
Under the radar The term has grown in prominence since Donald Trump returned to the White House
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK
-
Codeword: April 24, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
By The Week Staff
-
Crossword: April 24, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff