Growing up I was very familiar with Syracuse University since it was the alma mater of my parents and other relatives. The university's sports teams dominated the local sports news and I attended a number of football games in Archibold Stadium, the predecessor to the Carrier Dome, and basketball games at Manley Field House. As seem to be increasingly the case, at times university sports programs seemed to get more attention and far more money than academic programs. And successful coaches became demi-gods. And as we are continuing to discover, they got away with all kinds of misdeeds as other coaches and staff looked the other way rather than hurt the university brand. The indifference and callousness towards the youths who were victimized looks all too familiar with what became a world wide norm in the Roman Catholic Church. First some highlights from Reuters:The Hall of Fame head coach of Syracuse University's basketball team whose assistant was fired over allegations of sexually molesting boys, stayed mum about the growing scandal on Monday but will speak publicly after a Tuesday game, the school said.
Details of the investigations have so far not been made public, and the allegations have been based on statements made by the alleged victims. District Attorney William Fitzpatrick has said the police refused to share information.
"The Syracuse Police Department will provide the information requested by the Onondaga County District Attorney's Office on Tuesday," the police said in a statement, calling it "the appropriate time." "We have now moved into a new phase of the investigation with the U.S. Attorney's Office and the United States Secret Service taking the lead," the police said.
New York state police and agents with the U.S. Secret Service executed a search warrant at Fine's home on Friday. Experts said federal involvement could indicate the serious nature of possible crimes.
The world of college sports had already been reeling from allegations of abuse and possible cover-ups at football powerhouse Penn State, where a former assistant coach faces 40 sexual abuse charges.
Syracuse is the third major university to disclose abuse allegations after Penn State and South Carolina military college The Citadel, which disclosed that a student it investigated in 2005 had been arrested for sexually molesting boys.
Meanwhile, the Syracuse Post-Standard has more details. Here are some highlights:
Syracuse, NY -- The U.S. Attorney -- not the county district attorney -- has taken the lead in the child sex abuse probe of former Syracuse University associate men's basketball coach Bernie Fine. Fine, 65, was fired Sunday night by the university amid allegations he sexually abused several boys.
[District Attorney] Fitzpatrick said he continues to investigate what Syracuse police and others knew about the allegations in 2002. "My office is separately investigating what happened back in 2002, which does not concern the United States Attorney's Office," the district attorney said. "We're in court (Tuesday) on that, to determine whether or not the records will be disclosed. And that will obviously have a large impact into the status of the inquiry."
Lawyers from the DA's office and the city are due in Supreme Court Justice James Murphy's court at 2 p.m. Tuesday to determine whether the city will be ordered to hand over its records from 2002 to the DA's office.
Isn't it far past time for college sports to be put back in a proper perspective in terms of importance, the deification of coaches and players, and monetary expenditures? In a different collegiate atmosphere, I suspect such cover ups would not have occurred.
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