Bernie Fine: Syracuse Fires Assistant Coach in Wake of Sex Scandal

Following a second investigative report from ESPN on Sunday surrounding allegations that Syracuse assistant coach Bernie Fine sexually abused two ball boys for three decades, Syracuse has reportedly fired Fine.

Tweeted Pete Thamel of The New York Times on Sunday night:

The news, at least at this juncture, does come as a bit of a shock. There wasn't a whole lot of evidence condemning Fine, which was why ESPN was criticized for running the story in the first place last week.

ESPN released the original report last week after reporter Mark Schwarz simply interviewed the two alleged victims.

The report on Sunday, that came complete with a conversation between Fine's wife, Laurie, and alleged victim Bobby Davis, definitely painted an ugly picture, but it still wasn't necessarily grounds to terminate Fine because Laurie even had said in 2003 that the audio tape may have been doctored.

On top of this, Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim had said just nine days earlier that Davis was lying, per CNBC sports business reporter Darren Rovell:

You have to wonder if Syracuse knew something we didn't know. We've already been exposed to the horrendous Penn State scandal, in which multiple high-profile figures at the university allegedly covered up former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky's doings.

Why is Syracuse acting so swiftly when the reports themselves still don't hold enough evidence against Fine? You would think Syracuse would wait and give Fine the benefit of the doubt, especially since Davis had already gone to the police nearly a decade ago and Syracuse hadn't fired Fine then.

There are the allegations of a potential third victim, Zach Tomaselli, who claims Fine sexually molested him in 2002, but, the truth is, we don't know for sure if Fine is guilty, even if it appears that way, so it seems rather odd that Syracuse would cut ties so quickly with a coach that had been with the school since 1976.

You hope that, after the Penn State scandal, this story doesn't run much deeper.