Bernie Fine Scandal: Jim Boeheim Should Be Careful in Defense of Assistant

Syracuse head basketball coach Jim Boeheim has been strong in defense of his assistant Bernie Fine amid allegations that Fine molested two former ball boys, but he needs to be careful with what he says before the investigation is completed.

Boeheim said the following about Fine's situation in an interview with The Syracuse Post-Standard.

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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 [the accuser is] 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.

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Boeheim needs to be cautious about accusing people of lying when the allegations involve such serious matters. If Fine did molest former Syracuse ball boys, then Boeheim looks very foolish in defending his assistant.

What Boeheim needs to do is let the legal system take care of the situation and then comment.

There was one thing, however, that bothered me about Boeheim's defense of Fine, and it was when he connected the situation at Syracuse to the ongoing Penn State scandal.

Boeheim said:

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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.

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Boeheim really went out of bounds here. These allegations are serious, and to even speculate that victims of abuse are coming out just so they can make money is absurd and unfair.

From a man of Boeheim's integrity, I expect much better from him. He needs to shut up and focus on his team's performance on the court.

The Orange have a talented team and are capable of making another deep run in the NCAA tournament.

Boeheim needs to focus on basketball, and let the police, the university and everyone else who is investigating this situation do their jobs.

To claim the victims are lying before the investigation is complete is just irresponsible. Boeheim should have defended his assistant, but he went over the line.