Jim Boeheim on Bernie Fine: "There's Absolutely No Way I Believe Any of This Could Have Possibly Happened"

"I’ve known Bernie Fine for 45 years, and there’s absolutely no way that I believe any of this could possibly have happened,” he said. “That’s the bottom line."

Since the story broke earlier this evening, the University has already placed Bernie Fine on administrative leave tonight while they investigate the additional allegations. Boeheim has really put himself out there with this statement. He could have offered something more along the lines of “I support Bernie based on what I know at this time, and hope that the University conducts a full and fair investigation.” It sounds like the University has done its due diligence based on what we know so far, so this statement takes an unnecessary personal stance from Boeheim.

I talked about sexual abuse earlier today regarding this not being just a Penn State problem. People rarely believe a perpetrator, particularly someone they know, is capable of such things. Bernie Fine may be innocent. He may be guilty. Boeheim wasn’t with him every minute of his life.

The most recent allegations have re-surfaced because a second accuser, a relative of Bobby Davis, has also come forward. We should view this with skepticism but with seriousness. We should also not discount a witness outright because they did not come forward in the past: dealing with sexual abuse is difficult. Real victims don’t always come forward right away or at the first opportunity.

This is not the Penn State situation–an indictment, an eye witness, multiple unrelated victims who provided information, more recent victims. If the investigation leads to nothing more, it may ultimately fall to a he said vs. he said situation. If the publicity causes more people to emerge and level claims against Fine, though, Boeheim’s statements may not look so prudent.

[photo via Getty]