The Confidential

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Archive for the tag “scandal”

24 Jul 2012
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Penn State Penalties: The Day After

The Confidential has spent more than 24 hours digesting the NCAA sanctions imposed on Penn State by the NCAA yesterday.  As part of that digestion, the Confidential engaged in debate with neutral observers and Penn State fans alike regarding the sanctions.  While the Confidential still approves the NCAA penalties and believes them just–there are a few aspects where the NCAA seems to have erred.

As a preliminary matter, as it relates to the NCAA imposing ANY sanctions, the Confidential remains steadfast in its opinion that the NCAA was free to sanction Penn State for the sheer embarrassment alone.  What happened at Penn State hurt the image of college football.  We applaud when the NBA suspends Ron Artest for jumping into the stands; we should similarly applaud when the NCAA seeks to protect its image against this embarrassment.  After all, it was the adults at Penn State–the leaders, in fact–that committed the errors.  It is a bit troubling that a school can be punished for the prior sins of a young man (see USC & Reggie Bush), but there is no such sympathy for Penn State here.  Guys in suits made big mistakes.  Punishment was appropriate… sorry.

As for the punishments themselves, here is a copy of the summary of the penalties:

  • $60,000,000 fine, with the funds used to support an endowment for child abuse victims.  1 year’s gross revenue of the football program.
  • Bowl ban for 4 years
  • 10 less scholarships per year for four years.  Maximum of 65 scholarship players on team for four years, beginning in 2014-2015.
  • Current players may transfer
  • Vacated all wins from 1998 to 2011.
  • Athletic department–5 years probation, with an athletic integrity monitor.

There is no real quarrel with the fine, the bowl ban, the loss of scholarships and the probation.  While the fine is heavy, it is only one year of gross revenue.  And spread out over five years, the cost is not that damaging–perhaps 1/2 of the TV revenue Penn State derives.  The bowl bans, loss of scholarships, and the probation are hefty, but not unprecedented in form.

The issue with these punishments relate to the transfer of players and the vacating of wins.  The Confidential agrees that players should be allowed to transfer.  It is certainly not THEIR fault that this punishment was handed down.  HOWEVER, the NCAA is going way too far with respect to the rules governing this transfer process.  Specifically, the NCAA is allowing schools to contact Penn State players.   While the schools must inform Penn State of the contact, this remains an absurd policy.  If players want to leave, so be it.  They can contact the schools.  There is no need to allow open-recruitment of Penn State players.  That just adds insult to injury.

Even worse, the NCAA will apparently allow punished programs like USC and Ohio State to add Penn State players:

And finally, a school already facing scholarship limits because of NCAA infractions, such as Ohio State or USC, may add a Penn State player as long as it doesn’t exceed the limits specified in its infractions ruling. So USC can add Penn State running back Silas Redd as long as it doesn’t exceed its NCAA-mandated scholarship limit of 75.

What?  The NCAA is punishing Ohio State and USC.  There is simply NO logical explanation for allowing these programs to even consider adding former Penn State players.  The whole purpose of punishing those programs was to impose a penalty on them for prior violations.  Those penalties have not ended yet.  They should be prohibited from sharing in the feast on the Penn State players.  This is simple common sense and fairness.

Finally, the Confidential opposes the vacating of wins from 1998 to 2011.  Of course, vacating wins is a stupid and pointless penalty anyway.  If a school cheats, then perhaps they should forfeit the game–with the losing team becoming the winner and vice-versa.  But vacating the wins is a useless gesture.  Whether it is applied to Joe Paterno, Bobby Bowden, or anyone else, it is simply a fiction.

Here, it is obvious that the cover-up of Sandusky’s deeds staved off a public relations disaster that arguably would have damaged the football program.  But those kids still went on the field and won (or lost) the games that they played.  The kids played within the rules and did not cheat.  The games were legitimate and should not be removed from the record simply because of the misdeeds of the administration unrelated to the games themselves.  Even the coaches/opponents must agree that vacating wins is pointless.  In the context of Joe Paterno, vacating the wins seems like a twisting of the knife in Penn State.  Perhaps the NCAA could have vacated the wins from 2001–the year that Penn State should have done more.  Had Penn State endured the negative public relations that year, the season might have been disappointing.  In striking 1998 to 2011, the NCAA simply went too far.

What do you think?  Did the NCAA get it all right?  All wrong?  Partially right?  Feel free to share your opinion!

 

Posted by acaffrey in Football and tagged , ,
23 Jul 2012
2 Comments

Penn State Penalties

The NCAA has announced its penalties against Penn State.  The goal was to reflect the magnitude of the “terrible acts” and allow Penn State to re-establish a proper football culture at the University.  The penalties are severe, but reflect the Confidential’s twin desires that (a) something be done to address abuse generally; and (b) avoid the death penalty.

The following sanctions were handed down (for the NCAA’s explanation–see link):

  • $60,000,000 fine, with the funds used to support an endowment for child abuse victims.  1 year’s gross revenue of the football program.
  • Bowl ban for 4 years
  • 10 less scholarships per year for four years.  Maximum of 65 scholarship players on team for four years, beginning in 2014-2015.
  • Current players may transfer
  • Vacated all wins from 1998 to 2011.
  • Athletic department–5 years probation, with an athletic integrity monitor.

The Confidential believes that the NCAA’s punishments are strong, but appropriate.  As evidenced by the comments by Penn State fans, they just do not “get” how backwards the culture is there (or at least WAS).  This should serve to restore the proper balance between football and school.

Posted by acaffrey in Football and tagged , ,
22 Jul 2012
1 Comment

Penn State’s Future? Check Back in 14 Hours.

The NCAA has announced that it will be levying penalties against Penn State tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m.  Previously, the Confidential has opined that the death penalty is inappropriate because it adds one more insult to the victims.  It appears that the NCAA has decided to eschew the death penalty.  However, the looming penalty is being described as “unprecedented” and so severe that a source said that Penn State “may prefer the death penalty.”  So, the college football world can brace itself for a serious set of sanctions against the football King of the Northeast.

What do we know?

Well, we know that Penn State will not appeal.  They do not have any interest in challenging the NCAA.

Nevertheless, we also know that many commentators seems to be tripping over themselves to state that the NCAA should not be punishing Penn State under NCAA rules.  Two weeks ago, everyone wanted the death penalty.  Now, the non-death-penalty is unwarranted.   Writers need to make up their minds, apparently.

The Penn State community remains in denial–arguing that the NCAA should not concern itself with the Nittany Lions’ athletic program’s failure to keep a recidivist pedofile out of its locker rooms and subsequent cover-up.  Yes, Joe Paterno did great things.  We all get it.  But his program terrorized a number of young boys.  It might not be JoePa’s FAULT, but he missed several opportunities to prevent it from happening.  Stop worrying about Paterno’s legacy and instead clean up your program.

Finally, let’s speculate about penalties.  Huge fines?  Guarantee it.  The aforementioned article even speculates that the money will be donated to charity.  Bowl bans?  Count on it.  Lost scholarships?  Absolutely.  More?  Who knows.  Tune in tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. to find out just how unprecedented it is.

Posted by acaffrey in Football and tagged , ,
21 Jul 2012

Yahoo Claims Miami’s NCAA Issues Persisted Under Al Golden

It was about one year ago that Yahoo’s Charles Robinson reported that the Miami Hurricanes provided illegal benefits to more than 70 players.  The report was significant enough to get everyone’s attention, from Miami to the NCAA.  Miami’s Al Golden promised that he would clean up the mess caused by the former regime and booster Nevin Shapiro; however, a new Yahoo report by Robinson suggests that Miami continued to violate NCAA rules under Al Golden.  This is very troubling news for “the U.”

The new report concerns an allegation that the Hurricanes used “Sean ‘Pee Wee’ Allen – a then-equipment manager and onetime right-hand man of convicted Ponzi schemer Nevin Shapiro – to circumvent NCAA rules in the recruiting of multiple Miami-area players.”  The troubling aspect is that Al Golden’s staff also used Allen to make impermissible contacts.  If so, the Miami scandal overlaps the hiring of Golden.

The Yahoo article includes a pointed response by Golden:

“I have been a college football coach for more than 18 years and I am proud of — and I stand by — my record of compliance over that span,” Golden said in a statement. “As my colleagues and players on all of my teams can attest, I believe strongly in doing things the right way with the best of intentions.

“The inferences and suggestions in the Yahoo! Sports story that my conduct was anything but ethical are simply false. I, like all of us at UM, have cooperated fully with the joint NCAA-UM inquiry and will continue to do so, so that our program and our university can move forward. Because the process is on-going, I am unable to address any specifics or answer questions on the matter.”

Despite Golden’s denial, the report does seem to have some pretty clear evidence that Allen was used improperly.

The saving grace for Golden may be that these violations happened so early in his tenure–perhaps before he even knew Allen’s role with the team.  Nevertheless, Allen was dispatched by current Miami coaches other than Golden, who certainly would have known.  All in all, it looks like Miami’s troubles are getting worse, not better.

The Atlantic Coast Conference needs Miami to return to its glory days.  And looming NCAA sanctions are only going to delay that.  Hopefully, these reported violation are either untrue or were quickly remedied by Golden’s staff to help mitigate the sanctions.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football and tagged , , ,
06 Apr 2012
1 Comment

Dennis Dodd–Pandering for Attention

It just gets old.  EVERY time there is any error by a public figure, the sensationalist new media rushes into to see who can be the first to mandate the worst punishment possible.  It really crystallized with the Joe Paterno matter.  And then Jim Boeheim.  And now Bobby Petrino is the whipping boy.  For CBS’s Dennis Dodd, he quickly joined the Petrino must be fired camp. Only it is obvious that his position is simply to seek attention.

Dodd opines that the “only choice” is to fire Petrino.  Really?  For what?  For crashing his motorcycle?  For having an extra-marital affair?  For not being forthright about it?  Dodd opines as follows:

If you can’t bring yourself to be indignant over those episodes, what occurred Thursday was enough to push Petrino out the door. He can’t recruit from here forward. He can’t recruit because every rival from Gainesville to Knoxville will open their living-room pitch with news accounts of what occurred Thursday night. And what is sure to be fallout in subsequent days.

Petrino can’t recruit because every mama who does let him in the door will be shooting him the stink eye. They are wives and mothers too, just like his wife and his children’s mother, Becky.

In a fit of hubris and arrogance Petrino just lost his ability to recruit. At least recruit well. His misdeeds occurred in the Bible Belt where such things matter. Maybe matter more.

Petrino isn’t the first coach to have an “inappropriate relationship”. He is one of the few to get caught.

So, apparently,  Petrino will not be able to recruit because of a publicized affair.  It does not matter what he did, all that matters is how it will impact his ability to recruit.

That is internally inconsistent.  Dodd stops well short of stating that Petrino should be fired for his moral failings.  Instead, it is only about wins and losses.  Given how well Petrino can coach, that should be the reason that Arkansas looks behind these transgressions, places Petrino on double-secret probation, and lets wins/losses continue to define Petrino’s future.  If Petrino keeps winning, Dodd can just admit he is wrong.  If Petrino starts losing, Dodd will be vindicated.  Either way, what Petrino did is irrelevant.  All that matters is the results.  Dodd would prefer to have Arkansas speculate.

Even worse, Dodd just got done opining about how Rick Pitino proved that he belonged in the Hall of Fame.  An article written on March 24, 2012.  This is the same Rick Pitino who apparently had a sexual rendezvous with a woman and allegedly paid for her to get an abortion.  Three years later, Dodd considers him a Hall of Famer.  Granted, Pitino was in the Final Four.  But it would certainly seem that the “wives and mothers” of Louisville recruits looked past the transgressions.  If Dodd can look past them and focus on recruiting, the recruits can certainly do the same.  As will their families.  All the more reason not to guess about how any scandal will impact job performance.

It’s bad enough when the sensationalist media piles on to a beleaguered individual, but at least TRY to be consistent.  Otherwise, it is apparent that you are just looking for attention.  Mission accomplished.

Posted by acaffrey in Football, Uncategorized and tagged , , ,
12 Mar 2012

No 2012 Bowl for the North Carolina Tar Heels

No matter how well the 2012 North Carolina Tar Heels’ football team performs next year, a bowl game is out of the question.  The NCAA announced a series of sanctions against North Carolina that will include a 2012 bowl ban.

The sanctions arise out of accusations that former assistant coach John Blake had business and financial ties to a sports agency Pro Tect Management and agent Gary Wichard, which conferred improper benefits on various players including former star defensive tackle Marvin Austin. The NCAA infraction committee further determined as follows:

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill is responsible for multiple violations, including academic fraud, impermissible agent benefits, ineligible participation and a failure to monitor its football program.

Over the course of three seasons, six football student-athletes competed while ineligible as a result of these violations, and multiple student-athletes received impermissible benefits totaling more than $31,000.

While employed by the university, a former assistant football coach [John Blake] was compensated by a sports agent [Gary Wichard] for the access he provided to student-athletes and failed to disclose the income to the university. The former assistant coach and a former tutor [Wiley] both committed unethical conduct and failed to cooperate with the investigation.

North Carolina attempted to avoid sanctions by self-imposing various penalties, such as suspending players for games or the season, firing head coach Butch Davis, forcing Blake to resign, reducing scholarships, and vacating wins.  While the NCAA was apparently impressed by the scope of the sanctions enough to take it into consideration, it still concluded that additional sanctions were required.

So North Carolina’s total sanctions amounts to a daunting list:

  • Loss of bowl eligibility for 2012
  • Forfeiture of 15 scholarships over the next three seasons
  • Three years probation
  • A $50,000 fine
  • Vacating all football victories from the 2008 and 2009 seasons.
  • Certain individuals also must be disassociated from the program for a varying period, including former tutor Jennifer Wiley and former Tar Heels wideout Hakeem Nicks.

In addition, Blake received a three-year “show cause,” effectively preventing him from NCAA employment for the near future.

All in all, these are pretty stiff penalties for North Carolina.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football and tagged , , , ,
14 Dec 2011

Jim Boeheim and Syracuse Sued–Ironically

Is the lawsuit against Jim Boeheim and Syracuse University about the money or is it about justice?  Unfortunately, it may not matter because the lawsuit could very well be a setback for victims’ rights.

To be sure, the two victims/Plaintiffs have told us that the lawsuit is not about the money.  But, admit it, whenever you hear the words “it is not about the money,” the first thing that comes to mind is that “it must be about the money.”  When it is a free agent taking 5% more to move across the country, it is always accompanied by a statement that it is not about the money.  Instead, it is often portrayed as a “respect” issue.  Of course, the disrespect arose out of a lack of offered money or the timing of the offer.  If you have to say it is not about the money, people hearing that tend to think it is because it absolutely is about the money.

The Bernie Fine matter is not about free agency.  Instead, this lawsuit is based on Boeheim calling the accusers “liars” and stating that they were doing this for the money.  Surely, the irony in someone filing a civil lawsuit for monetary damages was lost on nobody, including the Confidential.  But if that irony is not enough, note that the two accusers/Plaintiffs claim that this lawsuit is about justice for other victims.  Mike Lang’s statement was as follows:

“Coming forward was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do in my life, and I hope by doing this, I can help other victims have the courage to also come forward — not just in this case, but in any case in which they have been abused,” Lang said.

Stop and think about that for a moment.  It’s not about the money, it is about justice and encouraging other victims to come forward.

The problem is that, from a justice standpoint, Bernie Fine has already been fired.  Jim Boeheim was taken to task by the media for his non-sympathetic comments and ultimately had to apologize.  In apologizing, Boeheim actually cleared the way for other victims to come forward in this and all cases.  Boeheim and his wife are even going to focus on supporting victims.  By all accounts–short of Bernie Fine being convicted–these two accusers/Plaintiffs have already been quite vindicated.  Quite a step forward for both of them and other victims’ rights.

Until yesterday.  In filing the lawsuit, the two accusers/Plaintiffs demonstrated that justice will not be served unless they get more publicity and cash damages in their pocket.  Again, like everyone else who professes that it is not about the money, the knee-jerk reaction is skepticism.  If Fine was still suspended, it would be understandable that they would need to press forward.  If Boeheim had not been criticized in the media or had not provided the sincere apologies, it would be understandable that they would need to press forward.  But Fine was fired.  Boeheim apologized.  The Onondaga County District Attorney called the two accusers/Plaintiffs credible just a few days earlier.  If there was ever a point for these two accusers/Plaintiffs to feel that Syracuse and the nation supported them, it was the point of time that existed on Monday, December 12, 2011.

Despite all of that, Tuesday, December 13, 2011, brought a lawsuit.  Not a lawsuit against Fine–the perpetrator of the crimes.  This is not the Goldmans suing OJ Simpson because the criminal proceedings failed to establish his guilt.  This is not even the situation with third accuser Zach Tomaselli, who is suing Fine and only Fine.  Instead, the two plaintiffs/accusers went after Jim Boeheim and Syracuse University.  The deeper pockets.

Most importantly–let’s go back to the purported basis for the lawsuits–protecting other victims.  What happens if another victim comes forward on Friday?  Now that the two accusers have become Plaintiffs, will the consensus be that this new victim is merely hopping on the litigation bandwagon?  After all, this victim did not come forward until after the lawsuit was filed.  If there is a new round of abuse in some other area of the country–those communities will have to grapple with the question of whether it is real or just a fabricated money grab. Will future alleged victims be criticized for not filing a lawsuit?  Will the failure to hire a Gloria Allred be seen as “proof” that these victims are not willing to have their theories tested in a court of law?  Will the rest of the nation determine that it is a minor scandal because the court system is not involved?  Will future victims reach a determination that coming forward only leads to litigation one way or another–a risk that ends up leading to more victims choosing to silently suffer?  The answers to these questions may very well end up being adverse to victims.

If the accusers/Plaintiffs REALLY wanted to help victims, they had every opportunity to do so without pursuing litigation.  A combined effort by Lang, Davis, the Boeheims, Syracuse law enforcement, and Syracuse University could have made a real difference in changing the culture.  A coalition like that would have changed the community and could have helped change things nationally.  However, that utopia was no match for the allure of publicity and cash.  So, instead of taking three steps forward, this issue will have taken two steps forward and then one step backward.  The two accusers/Plaintiffs have decided to leave it to other victims to victims to take it to the next level.  So much for helping other victims.  That is not merely irony, but disappointing.

What do you think?  Is this lawsuit really going to help other victims everywhere?

Posted by acaffrey in Basketball, Uncategorized and tagged , ,
13 Dec 2011
5 Comments

Boeheim Was Right: It’s ALWAYS About the Money

When does Jim Boeheim get HIS apology?  Well, he gets at least one of them today.

Jim Boeheim was criticized by some members of the media, and certainly taken to task on this forum, for his pointed statements regarding Bernie Fine accusers Bobby Davis and Mike Lang.  Recall that Boeheim was forced to apologize for saying that it was all about the money. When Boeheim finally apologized for those statements, the sentiment was that Boeheim should not have interfered with the alleged victims’ pursuit of justice.  After all, saying it was about the money disregarded the possibility that these time-barred claims were being advanced solely to prevent future harm.  The heartfelt apologies by Boeheim certainly did the trick in removing the focus away from Boeheim.

But we were all wrong.  Or at least those who criticized Boeheim were wrong.  It turns out that the accusers were always after the money all along.  ESPN is now reporting as follows:

Two men who say they were sexually abused by a former assistant basketball coach at Syracuse University are announcing that they are suing the school.

Bobby Davis and Mike Lang say they were molested by former assistant coach Bernie Fine when they were children. He has denied the allegations. A third man also has accused Fine. The U.S. attorney’s office is investigating.

The two men have hired Gloria Allred to handle their case.

So, there it is.  Despite having an amazingly unique opportunity to advance the interests of those abused in all of society, and despite Syracuse University firing Bernie Fine, that is not enough for the accusers.  Instead, it is time to “cash in.”

As it turns out, Boeheim was right.  So the Confidential apologizes.  You were right.  You probably still should not have said it.

But you were right.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Uncategorized and tagged , ,
28 Nov 2011
2 Comments

Bernie Fine Fired–Jim Boeheim Likely Safe

Bernie Fine has been fired, but Jim Boeheim’s job appears to be safe.  Although the Confidential previously opined that Jim Boeheim was taking a huge risk in going “all-in” with respect to the Bernie Fine molestation accusations, it now appears that there is stronger evidence against Bernie Fine AND that Jim Boeheim is nevertheless going to survive.  So much for the “all in” analogy.  At least, the Confidential beat the rest of the blogosphere with that analogy (prove us wrong).

The Confidential’s primary concern was that Boeheim could face serious trouble for calling the accusers liars and suggesting that they were making the accusations for the money.  He was also extremely confident that Bernie Fine would be vindicated.  Well, so much for that.  The latest news is that Bernie Fine’s wife is on tape essentially admitting that Fine was very much capable of these acts.  Feel free to read the details elsewhere.  In addition, there is a now a third accuser too.  Not surprisingly, the University wasted little time in firing Fine, which Boeheim concurred with in a statement that he obviously did not write himself.

The upshot is that Boeheim was wrong about Bernie Fine.  Barring some sort of series of conspiracies, it would appear that Fine is going to have a permanent cloud over his name, which tarnishes Boeheim.  If Joe Paterno got fired for simply being morally deficient, where does calling the accusers of child sexual abuse liars out for money rank?  One would think that Boeheim would be in trouble.  As usual, there are commentators who got their name in the press today opining accordingly.

But, overall, it has been surprisingly quiet.  It does not appear that there is a groundswell of momentum against Boeheim.  The question is why?  The Confidential believes that there are five key points that aid Boeheim’s position:

  1. The Penn State matter involved an assistant coach observing the rape of a 10-year old, without anyone bothering to have the police notified.  Ever.  In contrast, the Syracuse matter involves allegations that nobody affiliated with Syracuse has ever witnessed.  Also, while the evidence is mounting against Fine, there is not one piece of evidence that is not questionable–be it the credibility of the accusers or the allegations that the tape of Mrs. Fine was doctored.  This is simply not open and shut.  Nobody knows if Fine can even be convicted due to statutes of limitation, much less whether he will be.  There may never be any trial.  While things have gotten worse, they are still far below the evidence in the Penn State matter.
  2. Boeheim’s harshest comments were very much a knee-jerk reaction to an accusation against him seeing one of the accusers in Bernie Fine’s hotel room in the 1980’s.  There was no sense that Boeheim would have seen any activity, and even the accused later clarified that Boeheim did not have knowledge.  In between, however, Boeheim’s harsh response also addressed this misleading statement by the accuser.  While the import of the allegations against Fine were the real news story, Boeheim had a legitimate right to respond to the one statement involving him.  Unfortunately, he got carried away and commented on things that he should have left to the school to address.  But because he had a fair reason to respond, going too far in his response is at least somewhat understandable.
  3. To his credit, Boeheim wisely backtracked from his harsh statements by at least allowing for the possibility of changing his mind if he was wrong.  He had used harsh words, but the totality of his words did leave an opening for him to be wrong.  Even if he never expected to be wrong, this was helpful in showing that he was not 100% dismissing the possibility that the allegations were true.  In retrospect, this may have been very important.
  4. The Syracuse University response has been outstanding.  Boeheim may not have lived up to what his bosses wanted in the first hours, but there is absolutely no indication that his bosses were beholden to him.  In a strange way, Boeheim’s harsh remarks demonstrated that he absolutely does not tell the administration what to do.  He was harsh, but the Chancellor has been very measured.  And then the decision to fire Fine was swift, appropriate, and agreed-upon by all.  Within hours of Syracuse University learning about the audio tape, Fine was done.  And, most importantly, Boeheim apologized.  The words were likely written by another, but he did what he needed to do.
  5. ESPN’s failure to release the tape earlier.  Had ESPN provided the tape originally, Boeheim’s response may have been very different.  Because ESPN didn’t show their entire hand, Boeheim probably deserves a mulligan on his “all in” approach.  Everyone was misled by the veracity of these allegations.  Nobody was 100% convinced it happened when first reported.  Even with the tapes, the holes in this story are such that reasonable doubt may always exist.  Because we all got fooled, Boeheim’s remarks go from a terminable offense (perhaps) to a regrettable statement.

In the end, it would appear that the Confidential’s concern that Boeheim was going too far will not be realized.  At least today.  Nobody knows what the news will bring tomorrow will bring.  This story gets weirder by the day.

The good news is that the news media did not choose to punish Jim Boeheim for merely his words.  This happens in society and Boeheim would not be the first to suffer a severe penalty for the wrong words.  Syracuse University would have been well within its rights to have a zero tolerance approach to insensitive statements.  But this was not so severe that he HAD to be fired.  And this country has always been quick to forgive the truly contrite–and with Boeheim being part of the decision to fire Fine AND issuing an apology–the healing process began before anyone could jump in to say he should be fired.

But the best news is that Boeheim is now in a position to advocate from a position of strength for all of us to be a bit more careful when assuming that allegations are false.  Although we can think of motives to lie and reasons to disbelieve, Boeheim can go on the speaking circuit and advocate that we all be a little more sensitive.  Kind of like Michael Vick and the pro-dog promos.  Not all incredible stories are false.  Not all people who report abuse are doing it because they plan to sue.  If he can share that message going forward, this is a great opportunity for meaningful change to happen.  And that’s something that the accusers and Boeheim should be able to agree on as a silver lining of this very strange situation.

Posted by acaffrey in Basketball, Uncategorized and tagged , , , ,
22 Nov 2011
1 Comment

Latest on Syracuse’s Bernie Fine

The Confidential opined that Jim Boeheim may have been making a mistake in putting his neck on the line for Bernie Fine.   The premise of that was NOT that Jim Boeheim was a bad boss or a bad friend.  Quite the contrary, his support for Bernie Fine makes him an outstanding boss and friend.  He’s the guy you want in an alley with you.  He’s the guy you want in your foxhole.

The problem is that his public announcements went beyond merely responding to the one fact regarding him and, instead, interjected himself into the story.  He called the accusers liars.  No real gray area there.

To extricate himself would require some sort of “proof” that these allegations against Fine were false.  Proving a negative is always difficult.  Proving a negative from 20 years ago is more so.  Proving a negative in the absence of a venue is next to impossible.  At present, the only venue is the venue of public opinion.  Fortunately for Syracuse and Boeheim, the public seems generally tired from all the awful news that arose out of the Penn State scandal.  And the Syracuse situation comes nowhere near the Penn State situation.  But that does not make this issue a “clean” one.

Quite the contrary.  Right now, the Syracuse Police Department is in a battle with the District Attorney to see who can deflect attention away from its own possible failings quick enough.  The District Attorney is up in arms that he was never alerted about this years ago.  The District Attorney wants the police records–even to the point of obtaining a subpoena.  This does not sound like a team environment.  The Syracuse Police Department may or may not be behind a leak that one of the accuser’s ex-girlfriends reported this incident to the District Attorney’s right-hand man.  The call was never returned.  All one can say is, be careful what you wish for, Mr. District Attorney.

Frankly, for all we know, nobody ever called anyone!  But, in their zeal to cover their own butts, the Syracuse law enforcement team has decided that the best way to CYA is by shifting the blame onto its partner in stopping crime.  Good luck with that.  Meanwhile, the accusers, Bernie Fine, Jim Boeheim, and Syracuse University, all sit in the middle of this unexpected battle.  It’s kind of hard for anyone to strengthen and support their position when “law and order” are so busy trying to disappear from the scene of this accident (that may or may not have occurred).

For the accusers, this mess adds to their position.  Competing claims of incompetence by law enforcement officials bolster the claim that nobody took the accusations seriously enough.  More importantly, this debacle is keeping the issue in the news.  If this is about notoriety, mission accomplished.

This, of course, is the opposite of what Fine, Boeheim, and Syracuse want.  Their preference would be for this to shift out of the limelight for somewhere between “a while” and “forever.”

Look… nobody knows the truth.  For all the character witnesses supporting Fine, he may have done some or all of the things alleged.  For all the knee-jerk desire to assume that a human being would not have invented these serious allegations, this is a sick world sometimes.  Worse yet, there is nowhere for anyone to find “hope.”  Whoever is telling the truth, we are not going to like the result.

But, at this stage, determining what “the truth” is seems like wishful thinking.  There are too many questions to be investigated and resolved, and there is an emerging concern that there is little reason to have faith in those doing the investigating.  The bottom line is that this is not going anywhere fast.  Jim Boeheim valiantly stood up for his colleague and friend.  Hopefully, he has a chair nearby.  This may not ending anytime soon.

Posted by acaffrey in Basketball, Uncategorized and tagged , , , ,

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