Two accusers to file lawsuit against Syracuse University
UPDATED: Dec. 13, 2011 at 5:07 p.m.
The two former ball boys who accused Bernie Fine of molestation hired high-profile attorney Gloria Allred and will file a lawsuit against Syracuse University, according to an article published by The Post-Standard on Tuesday.
Allred will be holding a news conference at the Renaissance New York Times Square Hotel in New York City at 2 p.m. today, along with Bobby Davis and Mike Lang, the two former Syracuse ball boys who allege the former Syracuse men’s basketball associate head coach molested them. The lawsuit will be filed on Davis and Lang’s behalf, according to the article.
Davis, 39, and his stepbrother, Lang, 45, plan to sue SU head coach Jim Boeheim as well, according to an article published by ESPN on Tuesday.
The two men accuse Fine abused them in the 1980s and ‘90s. Fine was fired by the university on Nov. 27.
The university declined to comment on the lawsuit, said Scott McDowell, director of communications for the Syracuse University Lubin House in New York City in an email. He said he was emailing on behalf of Kevin Quinn, SU’s vice president for public affairs.
Allred has represented many clients in prominent cases. The Los Angeles-based law firm, Allred, Maroko & Goldberg, represented the Nicole Brown Simpson family during the O.J. Simpson murder trial, Amber Frey, a key witness during the Scott Peterson trial, and more recently, Sharon Bialek, who alleges she was sexually harassed by former presidential candidate Herman Cain, according to the law firm’s website and Allred’s personal website.
Syracuse University conducted an investigation in 2005 after Davis contacted SU anonymously about the allegations. The university investigation, lead by Bond Schoeneck and King, lasted four months, but none of the people Davis said would corroborate his story did, Chancellor Nancy Cantor said in an email to the SU community on Nov. 18. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison is now conducting an external review of the original SU investigation.
Published on December 12, 2011 at 12:00 pm
Contact Mark: mcooperj@syr.edu | @mark_cooperjr