Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

How much of a distraction will the lawsuit against Jim Boeheim be?

Syracuse Orange head coach Jim Boeheim directs his team against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the first half of their men's NCAA East Regional basketball game in Boston

Syracuse Orange head coach Jim Boeheim directs his team against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the first half of their men’s NCAA East Regional basketball game in Boston, Massachusetts, March 24, 2012. REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT BASKETBALL)

REUTERS

It seems like Jim Boeheim is going to regret his initial reaction to the molestation allegations against former Syracuse assistant Bernie Fine for a long time.

If you’ve forgotten, when two former Syracuse ball boys -- Bobby Davis and Mike Lang -- first accused Fine of molesting them, Boeheim came out and, more or less, called them money-grubbing liars looking to capitalize on the Jerry Sandusky scandal. And while there is a chance that his claims were actually true, the fact of the matter is that Boeheim put himself and Syracuse at risk of a lawsuit with such matter-of-fact statements.

This is where it gets a bit confusing for those of us that aren’t well-versed in legalese: Davis and Lang filed court papers on Wednesday opposing motions filed by Syracuse and Boeheim to dismiss a lawsuit that Davis and Lang filed against the school and the coach after Boeheim’s initial statements.

In simpler terms, this has the feel of something that could bounce around in the court system for a while. Davis and Lang don’t seem like they are going to back off of this case, and if Boeheim thinks they are “money-grubbing liars”, then is he going to settle with them?

Doubtful.

Boeheim proved adept at dealing with distractions this season, which is a good thing. Because this lawsuit may end up hanging over is head for a while.

Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @robdauster.