Bernie Fine: Jim Boeheim Must Not Overreact to Allegations Against Assistant

Just a couple weeks after charges of sexual abuse against children filed against Jerry Sandusky rocked Penn State, allegations have been made that Syracuse assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine sexually abused two ball boys from the 1970s to the 1990s.

Former Syracuse ball boy Bobby Davis and his step brother Mike Lang, also a former Syracuse ball boy, allege that Fine, who has been placed on administrative leave, molested them on multiple occasions, including in his hotel room on road trips, such as the 1987 Final Four.

Fine has denied these allegations, and Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim has been defiant. Boeheim is adamant that Fine could never have done such a thing, and he believes Davis and Lang are trying to cash in on the heels of the Penn State scandal.

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I’ve known Bernie Fine for 45 years, and there’s absolutely no way that I believe any of this could possibly have happened, he said. That’s the bottom line.

Boeheim told ESPN: I believe they are looking for money. I believe they saw what happened at Penn State, and they are using ESPN to get money. That is what I believe.

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While Boeheim could certainly be correct in his assumptions, he needs to be completely cooperative during the investigation. While Penn State officials apparently knew of Sandusky's conduct beforehand, I'm sure there were many within the university that were shocked by the findings.

There is nothing wrong with Boeheim defending Fine, but he can't allow his bias to get in the way of giving 100 percent truthful information to authorities. He is adamant that Fine is innocent, but he seems to be overreacting a bit to the charges.

It is already clear that either Boeheim or Davis are lying at this point because Davis said Boeheim saw him in Fine's hotel room on numerous occasions.

Despite Davis' claims, Boeheim denies ever seeing Davis in Fine's hotel room. In fact, Boeheim said that he has never been in Fine's hotel room, which comes off as a bit curious seeing as Fine has been his assistant for 35 years.

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I don’t think I’ve ever been in Bernie Fine’s hotel room, ever, Boeheim said. He added that he knew Davis because he was around all the time, but did not recall Davis being on trips with the team.

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This is certainly a tricky situation since the Sandusky case very well could have inspired Davis to come forward. At the same time, you can't rule out that it could be a fabricated story in order to get attention as Boeheim suggested.

Davis did attempt to report the abuse all the way back in 2003, though, but was told the statute of limitations had run out. Whether his story is factual or not, Boeheim and anyone with knowledge of the dynamics of the relationship between Fine and Davis need to be forthcoming.

If Boeheim has been telling the truth to this point, then he is complying sufficiently. If he is trying to cover things up, though, Syracuse could find itself in a Penn State situation. Had Sandusky's alleged abuse been reported to police immediately, then the scandal wouldn't have been so massive.

The same can be said for Syracuse if anyone knows of any type of sexual abuse that occurred. As long as Boeheim and co. are cooperative and helpful in the investigation against Fine, though, it won't reach the level of Penn State.