Wounded Lions

Ronald A. Smith is a professor emeritus at Pennsylvania State University. His books include Pay for Play: A History of Big-Time College Athletic Reform, Play-by-Play: Radio, Television, and Big-Time College Sport, Sports and Freedom: The Rise of Big-Time College Athletics, and Big-Time Football at Harvard: The Diary of Coach Bill Reid.

"A distinguished Penn State sport historian gives us an intriguing account of his institution's athletics history and daunting journey through a period of national humiliation in well-chosen, research-guided language that holds the reader's interest start to finish."--Joe Crowley, former president, NCAA "With exhaustive primary source exploration and riveting exposition, superimposed on an examination of Penn State as a fulcrum, Ron Smith examines the 'real controllers' of college sport—university presidents, boards of regents, and alumni—each of which over time have tended to separate college athletics from an institution's intended academic purpose, and, as well, cast institutions into scandals of immense proportion, of which the Joe Paterno/Jerry Sandusky case thrust Penn State's Happy Valley utopia into an abyss of staggering anguish and disbelief."--Bob Barney, author of Selling the Five Rings: The IOC and the Rise of Olympic Commercialism "Smith thoroughly documents decades of events that led to the Sandusky abuse of children. Smith's detailed history of sports administration at Penn State illustrates how the abuse evolved and was ignored in a cloud of conflicting priorities. The reader wonders what kept the individuals in power from not responding sooner and appropriately."--John Swisher, Professor Emeritus, Pennsylvania State University "Wounded Lions is a good book, a solidly researched account, written by an experienced, first-rank historian."--Sport History Review "Smith's understanding of the scandal at Penn State within the larger context of athletic history at the university not only demonstrates that the environment that creates a scandal takes many years to develop, but also that understanding contemporary issues require a look back at history. . . . Overall, Wounded Lions presents strong evidence that the Sandusky Scandal cannot be limited merely to the coach's transgressions. Smith makes a compelling case for his argument and bolsters it with archival materials and his personal experience at Penn State."--Sport in American History "Using Penn State archives and other research materials, Smith traces how football, and specifically Paterno, gained unquestioned influence on the campus. The author provides admirable research, complete with illuminating anecdotes.--Kirkus Reviews "As Smith evaluates the scandal and its origins from a multitude of institutional angles, the narrative reflects a deep research into the internal workings of a prominent athletic program, a valuable resource."--Library Journal "For those well acquainted with Intercollegiate Athletics or for the casual fan this meticulous history will be a revelation. . . . What Ron Smith has done is produce a detailed indictment of an isolated administrative and athletic culture that left the institution and its representatives unable 'to do the right thing,' when faced with a crisis."--Huffington Post"Based on extensive archival research and insider knowledge, this book convincingly demonstrates that PSU actually had a lengthy history of leadership missteps, which the entire Happy Valley community overlooked to protect the university's pristine image. Recommended." --Choice