Bernie Fine Scandal: Accuser's Recant Will Cloud Perception of Fine

Bernie Fine's harsh sentence from the court of public opinion got a little lighter. One of his public accusers admitted that he fabricated the allegations he levied towards Fine. 

Fine was fired from his longtime position as a coach on the staff of Syracuse's men's basketball team after allegations of molestation from three men, Bobby Davis, Mike Lang and Zach Tomaselli, came to light.

The statute of limitations had expired on the allegations of Davis and Lang, but not on Tomaselli, who came forward six days after the first two men and alleged that Fine had molested him.

Floyd VanHooser was the fourth man to come forward with allegations.

The Allegations

VanHooser, who is in prison for burglary, told the police and Mike McAndrew of the Post-Standard that Fine had molested him over 40 years ago. 

Fine taught at VanHooser's middle school and invited the young man to live with him after he lost both of his parents. As Emily Kulkus and Jim O'Hara of the Post-Standard report, Fine supported him "off and on" from that point. 

Admitting the Lie

VanHooser has since admitted that he fabricated the allegation because he was mad that Fine did not pay for a lawyer after his recent burglary arrest.

Initially, he sent out a letter. Two copies of the letter, dated November 29th, were obtained by the Post-Standard, and Kulkus and O'Hara reported the details. Below is an excerpt and a picture of the letter:

"

In a statement I gave I told a lot of lies about Bernie Fine. None of what I said was true. Bernie has been nothing but good to me over the years. He was the only thing I had close to a father. He never did any thing wrong he is a good man.

"

Kulkus and O'Hara reported that VanHooser was interviewed on Friday and confirmed what he said in the letter. 

Effect on Perception of Fine

The court of public opinion has little tolerance or patience when it comes to allegations of sexual abuse on a child. Hearing that four men had come forward to accuse Fine of these acts was enough to leave him vilified in the minds of many. 

These simply do not seem like allegations that someone would come forward with if they were not true. Now, 25 percent of the accusing parties are admitting that they lied about the allegations. 

This is not going to be enough to force people that have already found Fine guilty in their minds to completely reverse their opinions on him, but it will be enough to raise that shadow of a doubt. 

It will be enough to make many people take pause and consider the fact that what we've heard about Fine may be far worse than what actually happened and consequently hold off on final judgements.