Former Syracuse and NBA star Rony Seikaly on Friday blasted the accusations of child molesting brought by two former ball boys against longtime Syracuse assistant Bernie Fine, calling the allegations “disgusting and unbelievable.”
In a telephone interview with The Post from France, Seikaly, who attended Syracuse from 1984-88, repeatedly defended Fine’s character and questioned the timing of the accusations which come in the wake of the child abuse sex scandal rocking Penn State.
“I’m disgusted by the guy,” Seikaly said, referring to Bobby Davis, 39, who contended that Fine molested him starting in 1984 and continued the abuse until he was 27. “Bernie Fine is the glue of the program. Bernie Fine is all about helping people. He would never do something like that. He is one of the very best people I know. It’s disgusting that anyone would say it. It’s just unbelievable.”
Mike Lang, 45, another former Syracuse ball boy and Davis’ stepbrother, told ESPN the molestation allegedly occurred when he was in fifth or sixth grade. Syracuse police have launched an investigation into the charges. Fine was placed on administrative leave Thursday after the accusations came to light. University chancellor Nancy Cantor said in a statement emailed to students and faculty that the institution does not “tolerate illegal, abusive or unethical behavior — no matter who you are” while noting Fine has “vehemently” denied the allegations.
Seikaly angrily defended the longtime assistant, insisting he would have known of such activity.
“This would have happened during my years up there. You would have to know. If I saw a little hint of such a thing, I would have done something,” Seikaly said. “There was nothing. It’s disgusting. You won’t find one person who would voice anything other than Bernie is a good guy.”
Seikaly said he knew of Davis “as a ball boy and that’s it.”