Syracuse University fired assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine amid allegations that he sexually molested boys, rocking the multi-million dollar world of collegiate sports with more questions of sexual abuse and oversight, the university said Sunday. “At the direction of Chancellor (Nancy) Cantor, Bernie Fine's employment with Syracuse University has been terminated, effective immediately,” the school said on its website. Fine, who had been on administrative leave since Nov. 17, is the target of a grand jury investigation into accusations that years ago he molested a former ball boy, Bobby Davis, now 39, and at least one other boy, his stepbrother Mike Lang, now 45, when they were juveniles. Fine's boss for the past 35 years, Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim, said Sunday he supported the firing, withdrawing support he'd extended Fine when the allegations resurfaced this month. The university first investigated and dismissed the allegations for lack of corroboration in 2005. “I have never witnessed any of the activities that have been alleged,” Boeheim said in a statement posted on the Syracuse Orange sports Facebook page. “What is most important is that this matter be fully investigated,” he said. “ ... I deeply regret any statements I made that might have inhibited that from occurring or been insensitive to victims of abuse,” he said. The firing came hours after ESPN reported it had an audio recording of a 2002 conversation between Davis and Fine's wife Laurie in which she said she knew about the alleged molestation but felt unable to stop it. Neither the tape nor any additional witnesses surfaced when the university conducted its own 2005 investigation into Davis' allegations, Cantor said in a statement on the school website.
