Baltimore Ravens broadcaster Gerry Sandusky wants everyone to know — it's Gerry with a "G." That distinction is essential while reading Monday's news.
Jeffrey Sandusky — the son of former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky — was arrested Monday and charged with child sexual abuse. The news surely revived the story of his father, Jerry, who is still serving 30 to 60 years in prison for sexually abusing 10 boys over a 15-year period.
SEE ALSO:The NBA banned being jerks on Twitter, so now teams are being obnoxiously nice to each otherGerrySandusky, on the other hand, is the Baltimore Ravens play-by-play announcer, and made sure to distinguish that fact on Monday. Apparently he's been getting some hate online from those confusing him with the imprisoned JerrySandusky.
To all who again invite me to spend eternity in hell, just a friendly reminder, I’m Gerry with a G--no relation to former Penn St coach.
— Gerry Sandusky (@GerrySandusky) February 13, 2017
And if folks are stillsending hate-tweets Gerry Sandusky's way, you can imagine what it must have been like at the height of the Penn State scandal six years ago. People asked how he was tweeting from prison and how he could do such a vile thing to children. Many wished him an ill fate behind bars, which is an eloquent way of paraphrasing what people actually said.
The constant bashing had many suggesting that Gerry Sandusky change his name. Surely having to dole out an explanation — as he did here in 2012 — would get exhausting.
@JessicaPaden01 Wrong guy. I'm Gerry with a G. Baltimore sportscaster. No relation to the former Penn St coach who spells his name with a J.
— Gerry Sandusky (@GerrySandusky) June 26, 2012
I feel like a Geico commercial. In the time it takes you to send me a hate tweet, you could read my bio and see that I'm not related.
— Gerry Sandusky (@GerrySandusky) June 28, 2012
But the broadcaster stood by it, writing a blog post titled "The Best Reasons for Keeping the worst Name in America" in 2010, which explains that while doing so might make life easier for him and his family, it would only be a short-term solution.
"But in the long-term, each of us would know we had caved in to external pressure," he wrote. "We had failed to stand up to the legacy that made us proud of the Sandusky name in the first place. We would know we took the easy way out. And if we take the easy way out now, what will we do when life gets tough again?"
Luckily, many praised Gerry Sandusky for handling this new round of internet trolls with such class and patience Monday.
@Reporterroblang @GerrySandusky An absolute class act...consistently mistaken for an evil he is the farthest thing from...
— Mark L. Tomlin (@MarkLTomlin) February 14, 2017
@GerrySandusky Gerry, I'd like to personally invite you to spend eternity in heaven. 👼🏻
— 🇺🇸Mick Maga🇮🇱 (@G_Man_Toddler) February 13, 2017
So life goes on. Gerry Sandusky, the broadcaster, continues to live with an asterisk by his name wherever it shows up — on Twitter, Wikipedia and misinformed Google searches.