Syracuse assistant

[Vuce]

If a ball boy was travelling with the team on a road trip, where would he typically stay? His own room? With the players?

That is the thing. Ball boys don't travel with the team. Generally they are local kids that go to home games. They aren';t going to Hawaii and the Final Four with the team.

 

[Donyell]

That is a good point Vuce. Sort of thought of that myself. How is a ballboy going on road trips with the team? Do they need their own ballboy on the road and at the final4. Even major league teams don't take their batboys on the road and they have more of a job then a college ballboy. Strange to me. No matter what they can not be happy in Syracuse especially coming on the heels of PSU.

 

[UconnFanInNYC]

I watched the interview on ESPN OTL and read a few posts on the 'Cuse board. This guy sounds like a tweaker who has no options in life and I believe Fine will be exonerated. Then the accuser needs to go to jail and heads will roll at ESPN.

At this point Im very curious to see what happens at ESPN will the all the Syracuse alumni employed there. Will Syracuse grads stop applying for jobs there? Will some of the on air talent ESPN go to CBS, CNN etc...?

 

[RS9999X]

This whole thing sickens me and I'm afraid this is just the tip of the iceberg. Think about it. The profession and hobby (unpaid) of coaching children from elementary to even college age, has to be a magnet for sexual predators.
.

One thing was proven during the Catholic Church scandals: The rate of incident wasn't any higher in the Catholic Church than in the general population.

That suggests a huge problem still to be outed.

There are documens out there on the ways and means organizations go to protect their own.

In education its the "go away quietly and we'll say nothing" agreements to prevent lawsuits when there are 'accusations' and rumors.

In the Protestant Clergy it's the quiet settlement. Guys like Fine go to the clergy member and the lawyers work out a settlement. The clergy member is insured by a private self-insurance board for Protestant Ministers that doesn't report the individual settlements -- just the aggregate award settlements in their yearly filings. The clergy hides behind confidentiality agreements to protect the victim which in fact are drawn up by the predator's attorney to prevent public disclosure.r

My favorite are the pedophile baby doctors. This one with almost 500 victims was outed but got out of dodge with a professional courtesy mild warning and went to practice elsewhere.

 

[sdhusky]

I watched the interview on ESPN OTL and read a few posts on the 'Cuse board. This guy sounds like a tweaker who has no options in life and I believe Fine will be exonerated.

Maybe. If the guy was molested as a child, how surprising is it that he has no options in life right now?

 

[Huskybass]

When the kid is 12 or 15, thats one thing. But if he says it lasted until he was well into his 20's, I'd consider him to be a willing participant as an adult. I have a hard time buying into Davis' story for some reason. When you are 22, 23, 24 years old shouldn't you be capable of staying away from your "bad actor"? Maybe I just want to believe that the coach is innocent? On the other hand, I believe that those sort of thing is probably far more widespread than many of us ever realized.

 

[upstater]

When the kid is 12 or 15, thats one thing. But if he says it lasted until he was well into his 20's, I'd consider him to be a willing participant as an adult. I have a hard time buying into Davis' story for some reason. When you are 22, 23, 24 years old shouldn't you be capable of staying away from your "bad actor"? Maybe I just want to believe that the coach is innocent? On the other hand, I believe that those sort of thing is probably far more widespread than many of us ever realized.

His story would certainly be more plausible to the general public if he had said the abuse ended long before he turned 27.

 

[BonerStabone]

The accusations look less and less credible:

Davis' mother, Cathy Pitts, said Thursday she didn't know about any of the allegations until he did an interview with ESPN in 2003.

She said when Davis was young, he "was with Bernie Fine quite a bit." She said he traveled with the team extensively, though she said he did not go on trips when an airplane flight was required because he didn't like to fly. The 1987 Final Four, where Davis said he went with Fine, was in New Orleans.

The guy also claimed Fine molested him in Maui.

 

[upstater]

The accusations look less and less credible:

Davis' mother, Cathy Pitts, said Thursday she didn't know about any of the allegations until he did an interview with ESPN in 2003.

She said when Davis was young, he "was with Bernie Fine quite a bit." She said he traveled with the team extensively, though she said he did not go on trips when an airplane flight was required because he didn't like to fly. The 1987 Final Four, where Davis said he went with Fine, was in New Orleans.

The guy also claimed Fine molested him in Maui.

Except I read today that there were both pictures and video of him sitting in front of David Robinson at the 87 Final Four, so he was apparently there. Even if he didn't like to fly, or whatever.

 

[BonerStabone]

Except I read today that there were both pictures and video of him sitting in front of David Robinson at the 87 Final Four, so he was apparently there. Even if he didn't like to fly, or whatever.

Where did you read that?

 

[Mr.Phat]

If this "victim" is lying, throw him in jail. If not, throw Fine and Boeheim in jail.

I find it astonishing that Boeheim is all in with his chips - unwavering support for his assistant coach just hours after the story broke. He is going to look horrible if any of this proves to be true.

 

[Prezidint]

Well. I've always liked JB. Seems like a right guy to me. Always has.
He's either all in because he believes it or he's all in because he knows there is no fallback position, so why not unload all the ammo?
I think he skates on this one, unless something much more substantial emerges.
To the extent that this guy was molesting kids, it's not nearly as seemly as the PSU.
As for the "abuse" continuing into the 20s.
IMO, after a certain age, if there's no abuse/threat/restraint involved, it's no longer abuse. The age might be different for different people.
I'm thinking by 17 or somewhere in there most people understand basic right and wrong and know what they want and don't want.

 

[RS9999X]

I find it astonishing that Boeheim is all in with his chips - unwavering support for his assistant coach just hours after the story broke. He is going to look horrible if any of this proves to be true.

I think Boeheim knows if it was well investigated and lacks cred.

"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."

Bobby Davis's Mother isn't exactly proud of the whole thing as it makes her look like a stupid ignorant POS if Davis was molested just a fraction of the number of times he claimed.

Cathy Pitts added that she was unaware he was talking about this in recent days. "I really think he wants to be left alone," she said.

 

[sparky]

This is so sad. I listened to Tim Welsch say he roomed with Fine on away trips. He did say the young man did come to away games, but fine was there with his wife. I hope the kid is lying, but where there is smoke there's fire. I am a little skeptical that JB comments that the he doesn't remember the young man, and Welsch said he does and the kid was quite visible. Predators are in every walk of life we need to protect our young people at all costs.

 

[upstater]

Where did you read that?

The ESPN Outside the Lines Report.

 

[Dave Carlson]

With all due respect, youre high. In every civilized country in the world, except the USA, the accused are protected from crucifixion in the media. The accused aren't identified until conviction in nearly every country in the world.

This is one of the most absurdly and patently false statement I've ever read on on this messageboard, which is largely a clearinghouse for misinformation, illogic, tortured grammer and worthless opinions. You're one of the greats!

 

[TheRogers]

Except I read today that there were both pictures and video of him sitting in front of David Robinson at the 87 Final Four, so he was apparently there. Even if he didn't like to fly, or whatever.

If that's the case then that is a pretty bad blow to Fine. It negates what the victim's mom says that the alleged victim did not go with them to away games that required an airplane ride. I'm not saying that's the smoking gun. It is a very big plus for the alleged victim.

 

[upstater]

If that's the case then that is a pretty bad blow to Fine. It negates what the victim's mom says that the alleged victim did not go with them to away games that required an airplane ride. I'm not saying that's the smoking gun. It is a very big plus for the alleged victim.

Not really. She said he didn't like to fly, no that he never went away with Fine. In fact, she said he DID go away with him. A lot of Syracuse people have already said that he was around, so it doesn't add anything to the case. I only offered it because her "fear of flying" quote seems to be contradicted.

 

[superjohn]

At first it seemed to me like the story was bullshit but now I don't know. I still have no clue why this kid was a ballboy for 6 years and went away on recruiting trips, that just doesn't make sense. I think Boeheim seriously needs to stop putting out statements every hour.

 

[MTHusky]

That is the thing. Ball boys don't travel with the team. Generally they are local kids that go to home games. They aren';t going to Hawaii and the Final Four with the team.

I recall reading somewhere within the last few days that the kid was a babysitter for the Fine's both at home and when they traveled. Can't remember where I read that.

 

[intlzncster]

This is so sad. I listened to Tim Welsch say he roomed with Fine on away trips. He did say the young man did come to away games, but fine was there with his wife. I hope the kid is lying, but where there is smoke there's fire. I am a little skeptical that JB comments that the he doesn't remember the young man, and Welsch said he does and the kid was quite visible. Predators are in every walk of life we need to protect our young people at all costs.

From the quote above, Boeheim says he did remember the kid: "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."

 

[huskyharry]

Now it is a stretch to go jump to molestation but does anyone think it is strange for a 50+ year old man to take a 10 or 11 year old boy to Hawaii twice, the Final Four, Big East Tourney? I can see if it was Fine's kid but apparently there is no dispute that this kid was at these places with him. No father involved in the kid's life either from what I have read. Very strange.

Good point and no explanation from the Fine/SU camp other than the "we investigated this kid before and he is a liar"...think about it, why would the kid identify 4 people to support his story and then they support none of it...why would he pick those 4? Makes zero sense and raises concerns re the impartiality of the SU investigation

 

[Edward Sargent]

I take it that Fine was exonerated by a Syracuse investigation correct? Little bit of conflict there I'd say. Where are the real police in all these cases? Like many of the the Church cases it seems they went unreported to the real police. In the case of PSU again the PSU police were involved and investigated the initial report. That victim's mother when attempting to report it to a child service agency was told to think about a few days considering who she was dealing with. You wonder if the two alleged victims at SU were never satisfied that they got justice and never reported it to real police because they were considering who they were dealing with too.

 

[EastCoast2]

If Fine is guilty of any of these allegations, there is a special place in hell for him. However, the general consensus up here in Syracuse is that these two stepbrothers are drug abusers with many holes in their story. Did you see Mike Lang try to cry on OTL? No tears coming from his eyes. Davis gave the names for four other (men now) whom he was certain were also abused by Fine. All four denied any such actions occurring. Fine did in fact treat Davis like a son, Davis never knew his biological father. There was an incident in 2003 I believe involving an unpaid loan of $5000, Davis and Fine got into an altercation near the SU facilities and it is said Fine "cut him out of his life" then. Lastly, who gets molested until the age of 27? Weren't you guys trying to get in girls' pants at 14? You know the difference between right and wrong and what's going on.

Abused child or bitter, drugged-out, low-life, looking to take down a man who tried to help him for a long time? I need more facts to come out before I make my judgement.

 

[EastCoast2]

Also, Beoheim and Fine are neighbors. If JB knew anything about this, or even suspected wrongdoing, would JB let a guy like that live next to his young children? I don't think JB is that stupid

 

[bellairehusky]

Someone needs to step up and take a lie detector test. If either side is so adamant, let's do it and get going on the truth.

 

[Donyell]

Being molested till the age of 27 is not right. Something is off here. From the looks of Bernie most kids could have stopped him and beat the shit out of him at some point in their physical maturity , I know I could have kicked his ass by the time I was 12. Bernie is not Sandusky and ex football player who was in very good shape. Lots of strange things though in this story if you think about it. Maybe he did , maybe he didn't but if He was falsely accused man I'd take those guys to the cleaners . Just being accused of something like that is a life changing event.

 

[upstater]

Being molested till the age of 27 is not right. Something is off here. From the looks of Bernie most kids could have stopped him and beat the **** out of him at some point in their physical maturity , I know I could have kicked his ass by the time I was 12. Bernie is not Sandusky and ex football player who was in very good shape. Lots of strange things though in this story if you think about it. Maybe he did , maybe he didn't but if He was falsely accused man I'd take those guys to the cleaners . Just being accused of something like that is a life changing event.

You're looking at the guy now. This was alleged to have started in 1982.

 

[Danzz]

I just saw flash across my tv that Bernie Fine moslested a ball boy for more than a dozen years, wow where is college sports headed

Alleged is a long way from being proven guilty.As the Penn State scandal will bring other victims forward it will also bring opportunists forward.