“At the direction of Chancellor Cantor, Bernie Fine’s
employment with Syracuse University has been terminated, effective
immediately,” Kevin Quinn, the school’s senior vice president for public
affairs, said in a statement.
The 65-year-old Fine was in
his 36th season at his alma mater. He had the longest active streak of
consecutive seasons at one school among assistant coaches in Division I.
Zach Tomaselli, 23, of
Lewiston, Maine, said Sunday that he told police that Fine molested him in 2002
in a Pittsburgh hotel room. He said Fine touched him “multiple” times in that
one incident.
He was the third accuser to
come forward in the investigation of child molestation allegations against
Fine.
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim
said he supported the university’s decision to fire his longtime assistant and
expressed regret for his initial statements that might have been “insensitive
to victims of abuse.
“The allegations that have
come forth today are disturbing and deeply troubling,” Boeheim said in a
statement released by the school. “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.”
Two former Syracuse ball boys
were the first to accuse Fine, who has called the allegations “patently false.”
Tomaselli, who faces sexual
assault charges in Maine involving a 14-year-old boy, said during a telephone
interview with The Associated Press that he signed an affidavit accusing Fine
following a meeting with Syracuse police last week in Albany.
Tomaselli’s father,
meanwhile, maintains his son is lying.
Bobby Davis, now 39, told
ESPN that Fine molested him beginning in 1984 and that the sexual contact
continued until he was around 27. A ball boy for six years, Davis told ESPN
that the abuse occurred at Fine’s home, at Syracuse basketball facilities and
on team road trips, including the 1987 Final Four.
Davis’ stepbrother, Mike
Lang, 45, who also was a ball boy, told ESPN that Fine began molesting him while
he was in fifth or sixth grade.
When the accusations first
became public Nov. 17, Boeheim adamantly defended his lifelong friend.
In an interview that day with
the Post-Standard, Boeheim attacked Davis’ reasons for going public with his
accusations.
“The Penn State thing came
out, and the kid behind this is trying to get money,” Boeheim said. “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.”
No one answered the door at
the Fine home Sunday. Before Fine’s firing, his attorneys released a statement
saying Fine would not comment beyond his initial statement.
“Any comment from him would
only invite and perpetuate ancient and suspect claims,” attorneys Donald Martin
and Karl Sleight said. “Mr. Fine remains hopeful of a credible and expeditious
review of the relevant issues by law enforcement authorities.”
Tomaselli said the scandal at
Penn State involving former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky prompted
him to come forward. Sandusky is accused in a grand jury indictment of sexually
abusing eight boys over a 15-year period.
Amid the child sex-abuse
scandal, Penn State’s trustees ousted longtime football coach Joe Paterno and
university President Graham Spanier. The trustees said Spanier and Paterno, who
is not the target of any criminal investigation, failed to act after a graduate
assistant claimed he saw Sandusky sexually abusing a young boy in a campus
shower in 2002. Former school administrators Tim Curley — who is on
administrative leave — and Gary Schultz are charged with not properly alerting
authorities to suspected abuse and with perjury. They maintain their innocence.
“It was the Sandusky stuff
that came out that really made me think about it,” Tomaselli said in the phone
interview. “A lot of people were slamming ESPN and Bobby for saying anything. I
wanted to come out. … It made me sick to see all that support for Fine at that
point. I was positive he was guilty.”
