A tape-recorded conversation has emerged from 2002 in which the wife of Syracuse University Associate Head Coach Bernie Fine admitted that she was concerned that her husband had molested a ball boy in their home. Laurie Fine said that although she believed something was going on, she didn’t feel empowered to stop it.
The call was recorded by Bobby Davis, who’d accused Fine of molesting him over a number of years.
“I know everything that went on, you know,” said Mrs. Fine. “I know everything that went on with him … Bernie has issues, maybe that he’s not aware of, but he has issues … And you trusted somebody you shouldn’t have trusted … “
Mrs. Fine also said that Bernie was being somewhat delusional about what he’d allegedly done to the young boys.
“Bernie is also in denial. I think that he did the things he did, but he’s somehow through his own mental telepathy has erased them out of his mind,” she said.
The case was opened by Syracuse Police when Davis gave them the tape. Davis also gave the tape to ESPN in 2003, but they did nothing, claiming that no one else could corroborate the story. Another man has come out this month stating that Fine molested him as well.
Davis says that he slept at Fine’s home regularly as a teenager, in the basement. After he made his allegations public and the investigation was launched, Fine was placed on Administrative Leave.
“Laurie was a person I talked to a lot about this situation as I got older,” Davis said in an interview with ESPN. “And she was there a lot of the times, and had seen a lot of the things that were going on when Bernie would come down to the basement in his house at night.”
“Do you think I’m the only one that he’s ever done that to?” Davis asked his wife.
“No … I think there might have been others but it was geared to … there was something about you,” Laurie Fine said.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m wondering,” Davis said. “Like I’m wondering why I was like the worst one.”
“I don’t know,” Fine said.
Laurie Fine also confessed to Davis that she wanted to protect him, but just didn’t know what to do. She felt that her husband believed he was above the law, and that he would never get caught.
“Because I care about you, and I didn’t want to see you being treated that way … ,” Fine said.
“Yeah,” said Davis.
” And, it’s hard … ” Fine said. “If it was another girl like I told you, it would be easy to step in because you know what you’re up against. … (When) it’s another guy, you can’t compete with that. It’s just wrong, and you were a kid. You’re a man now, but you were a kid then.”
Davis also goes on to say that Fine used money as a way to convince Davis to touch him. When he asked for Fine’s help in repaying his student loans, the coach allegedly used the money as an excuse to touch him even more. Currently, Bernie Fine and his wife are not commenting.
Too little too late is this scenario. What a sin and a shame.
The wife is as guilty as the husband. It is hard to admit you
have made a bad choice in a mate and married a freak. Besides,
women get lulled into a false sense of comfort , especially if their husbands garner prestige in the community. Some
women keep their husband’s secret for fear of losing a meal ticket. These are my thoughts. Healing can come, but there will always be scar tissue to remind of the dastardly deed.
Please put her in the next cell to him! This is pretty sick 369:
Is there any wonder there are so many disfunctional people. So many as children have been victimized and struggle to live a balanced productive life. The wife was having an “affair” with the kid too!!! Makes you wonder just how deep these things go because much of the information in this case was known early on. How about building more prisons for these criminals.
What can anyone really say. From my early teens to my present age of 67 I have loved girls and women all of my life. Sick men that love little boys and other men are just to sick in the head for me to understand. I always felt that if God made anything better than women and girls he surely kept it in heaven.