Jim Boeheim, Syracuse Settle Defamation Lawsuit: Latest Details, Comments

According to USA Today's Nicole Auerbach, Syracuse University head basketball coach Jim Boeheim and former ball boys Mike Lang and Bobby Davis have reached a settlement stemming from a defamation lawsuit filed by the duo.       

Terms of the settlement have not been released. 

Lang and Davis previously accused former Syracuse assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine of sexual abuse in 2011, but Boeheim pushed back at the time. 

According to Syracuse.com's Bud Poliquin, Boeheim accused Lang and Davis of lying and attempting to make a cash grab in the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State University: 

"

This is alleged to have occurred ... what? Twenty years ago? Am I in the right neighborhood? It might be 26 years ago? So, we are supposed to what? Stop the presses 26 years later? For a false allegation? For what I absolutely believe is a false allegation? I know he's lying about me seeing him in his hotel room. That's a lie. If he's going to tell one lie, I'm sure there's a few more of them.

...

The Penn State thing came out and the kid behind this is trying to get money. He's tried before. And now he's trying again. If he gets this, he's going to sue the university and Bernie. What do you think is going to happen at Penn State? You know how much money is going to be involved in civil suits? I'd say about $50 million. That's what this is about. Money.

"

However, Syracuse released a statement Thursday, apologizing on Boeheim's behalf, per Syracuse.com's Chris Carlson:

"

Coach Boeheim regrets that he made those statements and that he questioned the integrity of Bobby Davis and Michael Lang. Since then, he has publicly committed to focus his charitable efforts on providing assistance to victims of sexual abuse, which he continues to do. We are glad to announce that we have resolved the defamation case that Mr. Davis and Mr. Lang brought, and look forward to putting this behind us.

"

Fine was fired days after Lang and Davis first came forward with their accusations. 

According to Auerbach, the two former ball boys released a statement Thursday once the settlement was finalized. 

"[We] have always sought above all to ensure that those who suffer the kind of childhood sexual abuse that we did, feel unafraid to report it and to speak about it," Lang and Davis said, per Auerbach. 

Boeheim—who is set to coach his 40th season at Syracuse when the 2015-16 campaign tips off in the fall—is entering the twilight of his career on the Orange bench. 

According to the New York Post's Zach Braziller, Boeheim is slated to coach just three more seasons before he hits retirement. At that point, the school will replace him with assistant coach Mike Hopkins. 

But after Boeheim and Syracuse were slapped with NCAA punishments regarding extra benefits, academic misconduct and the team's drug-testing policy, the end of his career may not end in storied fashion. 

Instead, the program will need to deal with the loss of three scholarships each of the next four seasons as Syracuse aims to rebound from a self-imposed postseason ban that it implemented last season amid the NCAA's detailed report.