Two of the men who've accused former Syracuse assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine of sexually abusing them have filed a civil lawsuit in the case -- but it's not against Fine.
Instead, Bobby Davis and his stepbrother Mike Lang are suing the university and its longtime head coach Jim Boeheim for defamation.
Read the complete lawsuit here
The two men alleged that Fine abused them for years while they were ball boys at the school. Fine hasn't been charged with a crime and says he's innocent. The county district attorneys say while the statue of limitations has run out for some of the allegations, Fine could still face charges. CNN reports that federal authorities are also investigating other allegations of misconduct.
Attorney Gloria Allred announced the defamation suit at a news conference Tuesday. She said Boeheim had "hundreds, if not thousands of opportunities" to observe and potentially intervene on behalf of the two men.
The Syracuse Post-Standard reports that after ESPN broke the story about the men's allegations, Boeheim said he believed the two were lying and predicted they would sue for money.
The paper says Boeheim has since apologized for questioning the motives of Davis and Lang, but Allred said he needs to be held accountable for his statements. Allred said the university should be held accountable for its coach.
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