Syracuse University in mid-November fired long-time assistant coach Bernie Fine after three men accused him of sexually molesting them when they were minors.

Fine’s termination came after university officials heard a 2002 audiotape recorded by Bobby Davis, one of Fine’s three accusers. ESPN broadcast the audiotape, which is allegedly of a conversation between Davis and a woman ESPN identified as Fine’s wife, Laurie, in which she said she knew “everything that went on.”

Fine has not been charged with any crimes, but the university chose to fire him while there is on-going federal investigation into the claims. We believe it made sense to fire Fine, especially in the wake of the Penn State scandal where former linebacker coach Jerry Sandusky was charged with sexual assault of minors. In that case, Penn State also fired head football coach Joe Paterno under suspicion that he knew of at least one alleged incident involving Sandusky but continued to allow Sandusky to use Penn State facilities and maintain an office in the football building.

Fine is innocent until proven guilty, but Syracuse could not allow a cloud of suspicion to hang over its head while America deals with allegations that another high-profile coach might have abused his power to become a sexual predator.

Now, however, the media has questioned Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim about his job status with the university.

It’s a fair concern and presents a good question: If Fine is found guilty of sexual molestation, should Boeheim be fired because the crimes happened under his watch?

In a press conference on Tuesday after a Syracuse win, Boeheim said he was not “worried about his job” adding that in 36 years he never worried about his job security.

Some radio journalists quickly condemned the coach for those remarks, saying they were signs of an arrogant man.

We should stop for a second and ask ourselves if he is responsible for Fine, particularly when Fine is being accused of allegedly committing these acts on his personal time.

Is Boeheim responsible for what his employees do outside of the basketball program?

Boeheim, in his press conference, said he is responsible for everything that happens within the basketball program at Syracuse, but added that he has little or no control over what goes on outside of the program.

This is true. How can he know what his employees are doing in their personal time?

For example, if one is a CEO of a small company in a community such as Biddeford, and one of the employees is accused of molesting children during his or her personal time, should the CEO also be held responsible for that person’s actions? No. So then, why should Boeheim be fired for his assistant coach’s personal actions?

The simple answer is, he shouldn’t. But the issue is more complicated than knowing or not knowing what your employees are doing in their personal lives.

Davis alleges that Fine molested him beginning in 1984. Davis was a ball boy for six years and said the alleged abuse occurred at Fine’s home, at Syracuse basketball facilities and on team road trips.

If Fine is charged and ultimately convicted, and it is proven that the abuse occurred on Syracuse road trips and at Syracuse basketball facilities, then that changes the issue of Boeheim’s responsibility. If the alleged abuses are happening on basketball road trips and at basketball facilities, then he must be held accountable.

There will probably be an investigation into how much Boeheim and university officials knew, either about prior allegations or about the overall situation. If that investigation finds that the head coach knew about allegations and didn’t act, then he should be fired.

Until that time, however, it is too premature to discuss relieving Boeheim of his duties.

Ӣ Ӣ Ӣ

Today’s editorial was written by Sports Editor Al Edwards on behalf of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski by calling 282-1535, Ext. 322, or via e-mail at kristenm@journaltribune.com.