SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — A judge has tossed out a defamation lawsuit against Syracuse University and men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim (BAY’-hym).
Two former team ballboys say Boeheim slandered them when he said they were out for money by accusing former assistant coach Bernie Fine of sexually abusing them more than 20 years ago.
When the allegations by Bobby Davis and stepbrother Mike Lang surfaced in November, Boeheim vehemently supported Fine, a longtime friend. Boeheim said Davis was telling “a bunch of a thousand lies” and called him an opportunist looking to cash in on the publicity surrounding the Penn State sex abuse scandal.
Supreme Court Justice Brian DeJoseph, a graduate of Syracuse University and its law school, ruled Friday that Boeheim’s comments were not statements of fact but were opinions that are protected from defamation suits.
