If these allegations turn out to be true...

[jekelish]

It's going to be an indescribably sad day for not just the Syracuse University community, but all of Central New York. I'm sorry, but I have to get my thoughts out there, so I hope you'll either bear with me or skip this post. But these are the things going on in my mind as a lifelong Cuse supporter and alum.

I'm going to go ahead and state what I'm thinking with the distinction that this is what my feelings are IF we find out that Bernie is guilty. I hope like hell he's not, but it's a possibility.

Some folks have talked about distancing themselves from the program. They have mentioned not watching the team anymore, and not supporting the Orange. I may be alone in this camp, but I just cannot do that. If these allegations are true, I will feel shame for being associated with a University where this took place. It will be a dark, dark day for SU if more information comes to light that ultimately proves Bernie's guilt in these claims.

I hope it doesn't happen. As I mentioned in a previous post, Syracuse is a part of my identity. It's fully ingrained in me, and has been since I was born. My dad and his whole family are from the Syracuse area, my uncle went to Newhouse (former roommate of Bob Gilbert) and worked at the Post-Standard. I went to SU, and my brother went to SU law. I never even considered another school, because I knew that all I ever wanted from a young age was to have a Syracuse degree hanging from my wall some day.

With that in mind, I just cannot imagine ever giving up on the Syracuse athletics department and its teams. I know these allegations, if they prove true, will be extremely damaging to the reputation of not only the University, but anyone directly associated. However, here's what I believe: if these allegations prove true, they are the actions of individuals, and NOT Syracuse University as a whole. There are too many people associated with Syracuse University for me to throw in the towel. Going back to when SU was founded, there is too much rich history, and too much good that has come out of Syracuse University, for me to simply give up and disassociate myself from the University.

The actions of a few do not represent the good and the accomplishments of the many. At the end of the day, Syracuse University and its athletics programs have done far more good than even a few individuals and their alleged depraved acts could ever undo. I refuse to let one or two people ruin my perception of Syracuse, and the Orange. I will not allow it to happen. I'm proud to be a Syracuse University graduate, and always will be.

What may or may not have happened within this case does not reflect me, it does not reflect any of my friends from Syracuse, and it does not reflect anyone from this board. We have to separate the individuals from the organization, and that organization is Syracuse University. I refuse to allow what might have happened sour my overall view of the University.

Will it hurt, if this proves to be true? Absolutely. I'll feel personally betrayed, as a former camper at the Jim Boeheim basketball camp run by Bernie Fine. I'll feel betrayed as a lifelong Syracuse fan and alum. But I'll feel betrayed by individuals, and not the University. The University is bigger than this, and I will not hold 140 years of tremendous history accountable for the misdeeds of one person, or the few who may have helped cover up those misdeeds.

I believe Bernie Fine and Jim Boeheim, largely because I want so very badly to believe them. I don't want to believe this could have happened at SU, because I want to believe the best in people associated with my alma mater.

I always joke that when I was a kid, the first Washington I learned about was Pearl, and not George (this is a fact, by the way). That's how much Syracuse has always meant to me, and while these allegations may tarnish the good name of Syracuse University, I will not allow them to obliterate my love of the school or its athletics programs.

At the end of the day, we're talking about an athletics department that has done so much good, and a basketball program that has given us joy over the years. I say this firmly: the people who run things do not matter, when you get right down to it. This college athletics, and the most important people involved in college athletics are the student-athletes. I will never stop giving them my full support based on the purported actions of the people above them. Syracuse athletics has always been, and will always be about the students. I don't know about the rest of you, but that's the way I'll always see it, and that's why, no matter how this shakes out, I'll always continue to support the Orange.

If people involved are guilty, then they are a cancer and will be removed. I refuse to let that cancer sully my idea of what Syracuse University and its athletics department mean, have always meant, and will always mean to me.

Sorry to ramble...but I had to get this off my chest. Feel free to move along, nothing more to see here folks, ALL IS WELL!!!!!

 

[Cuseman78]

Well said. Im going to copy and paste this and save it for IF this were to ever prove true. My thoughts almost to a tee.

 

[DoctorBombay]

Very well said.
I couldn't give up my SU addiction, but it would be one of the saddest days of my life.
I'm Cuse till I die, but right is right, & wrong is wrong. The victims have to come first.

If Bernie Fine is what we all hope he's not, then he, JB, & SU will have a heavy price to pay.
That is not the time to abandon the program.
I mean where else we gonna go? Be a Rutgers fan?? Or Georgetown? Perhaps we can root for UConn?
No thanks- we have to fight through it, and then get back on the horse. I could do nothing less....
In the end, this too shall pass.

 

[RF2044]

Great post, Jeff.

 

[bballbeadle]

Have people given up being Catholic? Have people stopped being Boy Scouts? If Bernie is guilty - and I hope he is not - it has nothing to do with the kids who play basketball, the students who go to school, the fans who support the team and go the games, or the Coach who believes his friend is innocent. I will be sorry, but I feel no guilt or shame.

 

[AZOrange]

Jeke, funny how similar our stories are...I thought you were talking about me.

That said, I am probably the one you are talking about in your post. Here is how I see it. If the allegations are true, there are likely to be many more victims. I cannot accept that a thorough investigation in 2005 would not have shown what is revealed now. I cannot accept that no one in the program knew. Therefore, I cannot support my University any longer financially and I will not support them anymore from a basketball perspective. If this can go on under everyone's noses, then I will never feel comfortable sending my kids there, telling my kids about the great tradition, etc. It will be like losing an arm to me. It hurts, but you have to move on. I just cannot bring myself to support anything that is remotely related in anyway to child molestation and abuse. Its personal but hopefully people understand. It would be one of the most painful choices in my life.

That said, I believe in Bernie's innocence until proven otherwise.

 

[jekelish]

AZ - I was actually speaking in complete generalities, believe it or not. I'm just looking at how people reacted to the Penn State stuff, and thinking to myself I could never shun Syracuse like some people are talking about with PSU.

 

[Flacusian]

The University and the Basketball program are larger than any one individual could ever be. The current coaches, players, and administrators are only temporary stewards of a larger entity. I would hold any individuals who either perpetrated a crime or helped to conceal a crime culpable but not the University or the Basketball program. I believe that people who perpatrate such henious crimes against childern should be viewed as individuals who are sick or ill as well as being viewed as crimminals. However repulsive I might find an act commited by someone I also try not to lose sight of the fact that the perpatrator is also a human being and oftentimes is also a victim of the same kind of crime that they have committed. The bottom line is I just don't really know all the circumstances surrounding things I hear about in the news. That isn't to say that people who commit such crimes shouldn 't be held accountable. They do need to be held accountable but there are instances where they are not entirely responsible. In situations such as this one currently facing SU fans, students, alumni I feel that it is important to keep the intellect over the emotion. Simply stated, I doubt that few if any people beyond Bernie Fine and the two accusers know the truth of the matter. I have confidence that the University will act in the best interest of justice being served and that people need to step back while all this plays out before rushing to judgement. Although I shudder at the thought of it, there is the real possibility that Bernie Fine may in fact be guilty of perpetrating the act of sexual molestation against one or both of these individuals. After having watch the video of their accounts repeatedly , I find it hard to believe that there isn't some element of merit involved in what they claim. At the same time I can't wrap my head around Bernie Fine, long time Syracuse Basketball Icon being involved in any way. The truth lies somewhere between both accounts being provided by the parties involved. Only time will tell and there may perhaps never be any clear cut resolution to this situation which is having such a profound effect on the lives of so many. For myself I am going to pray that the truth prevails and pray for God's will to be done for both Bernie and the 2 accusers.

 

[BlueCurtain]

If Bernie is guilty, lock him up. If he's not let him continue with his crossword puzzles on the bench.

Either way, he is not SU. no one person is SU. This talk about distancing one's self from the program? Masochism or stupidity - depending how you look at it.