Bernie Fine: Why We Shouldn't Rush to Judgement Towards Syracuse Assistant

Bernie Fine has been accused of sexually abusing two young boys, and while this is a serious matter that must be handled with care, nobody should rush to harsh conclusions about what took place at Syracuse. 

Syracuse is taking action to deal with this situation, and the public needs to wait before they begin to annihilate the school for these strong accusations.  

ESPN is reporting that two former Syracuse University ball boys claim long-time assistant coach Bernie Fine molested them for a number of years back in the late 1970s and lasting into the 1990s. 

Bobby Davis, who is now 39 years old, first told ESPN of this alleged tragedy in 2003, but the network wisely chose not to run with it because there was no evidence and nothing to to corroborate Davis' story. 

That all changed recently when Mike Lang, who is now 45 years old, came forward to share what Fine allegedly did to him. 

Lang is Davis' stepbrother and was inspired to come forward after seeing everything that has happened in the Jerry Sandusky case at Penn State. 

Unlike the Sandusky scandal, the one at Syracuse features less information and doesn't seem like the truth, especially to head coach Jim Boeheim. 

"

"I know this kid, but I never saw him in any rooms or anything," Boeheim told ESPN. "It is a bunch of a thousand lies that he has told. You don't think it is a little funny that his cousin (relative) is coming forward?

He supplied four names to the university that would corroborate his story. None of them did ... there is only one side to this story. He is lying.

 What are people looking for here? 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." 

"

Davis states that Boeheim saw him in hotel rooms with Fine, but the head coach denies it ever happening. 

Since there is nothing but the word of these two, people shouldn't be so quick to bash Syracuse of the alleged crimes. Let things play out and see if any more news comes to light. 

If more and more people come forward claiming that Fine molested them, then there is a major cause for concern. 

Don't get me wrong, this is a serious issue and the folks at Syracuse are handling it properly. They reacted well, didn't panic, but knew they had to place Fine on administrative leave.

However, it does seem a little fishy that a relative of Davis wouldn't speak up until just now. It would make more sense that Lang would accuse Fine of sexual abuse at the same time as Davis. Lang will soon be placed under the spotlight and he'll have to share why he waited so long.

This is a tragic story no matter how you look at it. If the allegations are indeed true, then Fine will be fired and Syracuse will suffer.

But if these two men are lying in front of the entire world, then it sheds a negative light not only on them, but also on victims of sexual abuse. This is something the real victims don't need because all it does is put those who have been abused in a difficult situation.

Say there is someone who actually was molested, and they were thinking about coming forward, but if these two men are lying it will put fear in others about speaking out against those who harmed them.

They will be afraid to speak up because people will automatically accuse them of lying like Davis and Lang, if that is the actual case for these former Syracuse ball boys. 

The Sandusky case has raised great awareness to the horrible tragedy of child abuse, and these two men could very well destroy it by lying. 

Wait until the story unfolds and the investigators dig deeper before casting judgement upon Fine and Syracuse.