Fine allegations : Judge denies request by accusers for roster, names of former basketball players
The request made by two of Bernie Fine’s accusers for Syracuse University to turn over a roster with the names of former basketball players was denied in a New York City court Friday.
Mariann Wang, the lawyer representing former ball boys Bobby Davis and Mike Lang, requested the roster in an attempt to keep the defamation lawsuit against men’s basketball head coach Jim Boeheim in New York City, according to a Feb. 10 article published by The Post-Standard.
The document would include the names of all the basketball players from 1992 to 1997 and any information regarding the players who allegedly had an inappropriate relationship with Fine’s wife, Laurie.
State Supreme Court Justice Anil Singh rejected the request. Singh said the information Wang desired was not relevant to the request from Boeheim and SU to change the venue of the case to Onondaga County, according to the article.
Gloria Allred, the high-profile lawyer representing Davis and Lang, released an affidavit last week in which Davis claimed he knew the names of at least three players who allegedly had sexual relations with Laurie Fine. The plaintiffs argued the players’ names were necessary to see if any of them lived in New York City so that the case could remain downstate.
Allred could not be reached for comment.
Davis and Lang claim Boeheim defamed them when he publicly accused the stepbrothers of lying about Fine molesting them. Boeheim later apologized for these comments.
Fine, who was fired from the university Nov. 27, has denied the allegations and has not been charged. Federal agents and the Syracuse Police Department continue to investigate.
Published on February 10, 2012 at 12:00 pm
Contact Marwa: meltagou@syr.edu | @marwaeltagouri