The other shoe has dropped for Bernie Fine.
Syracuse on Sunday night fired Fine, the former associate head coach, after the Syracuse Post-Standard reported that a third person had come forward to accuse Fine of sexual molestation.
“At the direction of Chancellor [Nancy] Cantor, Bernie Fine’s employment with Syracuse University has been terminated, effective immediately,” read the statement.
Fine had previously been placed on administrative leave.
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, who has been steadfast in his support of Fine, his friend for 50 years, said he supported the decision.
“The allegations that have come forth today are disturbing and deeply troubling,” he said in a statement.
“I am personally very shocked because I have never witnessed any of the activities that have been alleged. I believe the university took the appropriate step tonight. What is most important is that this matter be fully investigated and that anyone with information be supported to come forward so that the truth can be found. I deeply regret any statements I made that might have inhibited that from occurring or been insensitive to victims of abuse.”
When the allegations first surfaced, Boeheim said the accusers were liars who were motivated by money.
The Syracuse Post-Standard reported earlier Sunday that a third person, Zach Tomaselli, had come forward to accuse Fine of molestation.
ESPN’s “Outside The Lines” also aired a 2002 taped phone conversation between Fine’s wife, Laurie, and accuser Bobby Davis in which Laurie said she suspected her husband of molestation and told Davis her husband “thinks he’s above the law.”
Cantor issued the following statement:
“Frankly, the events of the past week have shaken us all. The taped phone call that ESPN revealed today was not provided to the University by Mr. Davis during the 2005 investigation by our legal counsel. Like the media review of the case a few years earlier, no other witnesses came forward during the university investigation, and those who felt they knew Bernie best could not imagine what has unfolded.
“Since I last wrote to you, we have been cooperating fully with the authorities. On Friday, November 18, as the District Attorney has noted, we turned over to his office the results of our 2005 months-long investigation. Also on November 18, our Board of Trustees retained an independent law firm, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, to review our procedures in responding to the initial allegations when they first came to the University’s attention. I fully supported that decision and it is vital that we examine our protocols and actions in dealing with such serious allegations. We need to learn all we can from this terrible lesson.
“All of us have the responsibility, individually and collectively, to ensure that Syracuse University remains a safe place for every campus community member and everyone with whom we interact on a daily basis on campus or in the community as part of our learning, scholarship, or work. We do not tolerate abuse. If anything good comes out of this tragedy, it will be that this basic principle is reinforced. ”
