ESPN Sat on Molestation Tape Since 2002

Rush Limbaugh.com ^ | November 28, 2011 | Rush Limbaugh

[Kaslin]

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: So this assistant basketball coach at Syracuse, this guy -- Fine is his name, Bernie Fine -- has been accused of sexually molesting boys and students for a whole bunch of years. It turns out that ESPN had a tape since 2002 with evidence. ESPN has sat on evidence for nine years because they say they couldn't corroborate it. On the tape the guy's wife cops to it, saying she witnessed it and a ball boy admits it. They say they couldn't corroborate it. I wonder if the coach's name had been Paterno if ESPN woulda sat on this for nine years. They're saying they couldn't corroborate it.

"Syracuse fired assistant coach Bernie Fine Sunday after a 2002 phone recording emerged in which Fine's wife told his accuser she was well aware that her husband had molested him. The tape had been in ESPN's possession since former team ball boy Bobby Davis legally recorded it nearly a decade ago, but the network said it didn't air it until Sunday, it said, because it didn't have corroboration. Two other men have also come forward to say Fine molested them since Davis first accused Fine. The accusations became public after Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was fired amid allegations he sexually abused young boys.

"Davis made the tape after a brief talk with police in 2002. His allegations, which he brought to ESPN and the Syracuse Post-Standard at the time, created a journalistic conundrum for both: They didn't know whether to report accusations that could be incredibly damaging to Fine, or to risk not exposing a child molester. Both news outlets opted not to report on the allegations, they said, because they couldn't find anyone to support Davis' account. Neither Davis nor ESPN passed on the tape to Syracuse University officials for an internal investigation of Fine in 2005. Syracuse chancellor Nancy Cantor noted in a statement Sunday that university officials did not have the tape at the time.

"'That is true. They did not have that tape in 2005,' ESPN's Mark Schwarz reported Sunday night. 'Bobby Davis did not know what to do with that tape. All he knew is that the Syracuse police had a cursory five-minute phone conversation with him in 2002. He then made the tape. He presented it to us. We didn't have a corroborating second alleged victim,'" and apparently no curiosity, either! Apparently no curiosity to find out anything further. But then the whole thing blew up when the coach's "wife told his accuser she was well aware that her husband had molested him." So the wife knew that this was all going on all this time!

As I say, I wonder if the coach's name were Paterno or if McNabb had been involved somehow, if ESPN woulda sat on the tape for nine years. It's really fascinating stuff. I mean, a lot of people are asking, "How do you sit on evidence like this for nine years and not have even any curiosity to find out if what you've got is a bombshell?" We're hearing all this holier-than-thou wringing of hands. "My God, the abuse of a child is going on, and nobody did anything about it! How could this coach possibly sit by?" This McQueary guy, the Penn State guy, "How could this McQueary guy let it go? How could he let it go on? How could he not stop it?" How could ESPN let it go on? How could they not take steps to stop it, corroborate it, or whatever? It's amazing.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: All right, this scandal now at Syracuse, the Bernie Fine scandal. For nine years a tape with evidence of sexual molestation of a young boy. Nine years. They said they couldn't corroborate it. For nine years they sat on it. Why not? Folks, there's this giant elephant in the room. It's the same thing happened at Penn State. Nobody wants to bring it up, nobody wants to talk about it, nobody's got the guts and the courage to talk about it, but it's there, and there's no question. You see how fast ESPN would have put out that tape if this Bernie Fine guy had said something questioning the media hype around Donovan McNabb. See how fast ESPN would have put that out if it was a young girl that was molested.

END TRANSCRIPT

[Scoutmaster]

Paterno did as he was supposed to

Remind me never to let you or JoePa serve as an Assistant Scoutmaster in my Troop or Crew, or as a youth leader at my church. We have higher standards that what you and Joe apparently think you're supposed to have when you know a man has issues with little boys, but is continuing to 'work' with them. Frank Noonan, Pennsylvania's State Commissioner of Police also agrees that Paterno didn't do what he was supposed to do.

[NRG1973]

Actually if you put two and two together, the kid talked to police before making the tape - most likely because he wanted to expose the crime and get the guy fired at least...

No!!! Mike Waters of the Syracuse Post-Standard reported today that his newspaper had the tape in 2002 when the police were doing their investigation. Davis gave the tape to the newspaper...but not the police.

[trisham]

I still watch "Mike and Mike" sometimes, although now that Dennis and Callahan are on TV I have mostly switched over.

Dennis and Callahan (WEEI, NESN) have been covering this and the Paterno story since they were made public.

[Neverforget01]

Frank Noonan? Too bad he wasn't on the grand jury.

So you are calling for the prosecution of ESPN management who had direct evidence? Funny, have you called for the firing of Boeheim or anyone at Syracuse?

By the way, what Joe "knew" he took to authorities. You have no idea what those folks did with what Joe heard from his asst. about a former coach. If Joe hadn't reported what he'd heard, he'd still have a job, like Boeheim does. The supposed "cover-up" including reporting hearsay. Craziest cover I've ever heard of.

[ronnie raygun]

They are numbing us to this now in preparation of sharia law and Islam.
watch the truth
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCfbYkXtHuA

[fortheDeclaration]

If they were involved in a coverup-yes they should all go.

Too complicated for you?

[fortheDeclaration]

Paterno got what he deserved, stop crying for him.

[kosciusko51]

If they were involved in a coverup-yes they should all go.

Too complicated for you?

No. I just want to see hundreds and hundreds of posts denouncing ESPN, even before all the facts are out.

[Neverforget01]

No. I just want to see hundreds and hundreds of posts denouncing ESPN

Don't hold your breath. ESPN is part of the MSM and it can do no wrong.

[Scoutmaster]

The supposed "cover-up" including reporting hearsay.

No, it didn't. I assume you're not an attorney (and for that I commend you). "Hearsay" is a legal term that applies to evidence presented in court. Nothing said to Paterno was evidence presented in court.

Hearsay is a statement made out of court that is offered in court as evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted. Because the information from McQueary was not being offered as evidence in court, it wasn't hearsay.

There are so many exceptions to the hearsay rule that your evidence professor will joke that excluding evidence as hearsay is an exception to the hearsay exceptions. In this case, what Paterno heard was not hearsay because it wasn't offered as evidence in court, consisting of a statement by McQueary made out of court as proof that what McQueary said was true. Even in court, it could be offered for other purposes (although a judge may find that what McQueary said was so highly prejudicial to Sandusky that he or she would exclude it on that basis).

Incidentally, Pennsylvania is one of only a handful of states in which Paterno, as a faculty member of a university, wasn't required by law to report a reasonable allegation of suspected child abuse. Pennsylvania's a little backwards in that respect. Apparently the Nittany Valley is even a little backwards for what Pennsylvanians who aren't fervent Penn State supporters think.

We've already been through this with Paterno apologists. If it was 'hearsay' when Paterno heard it, it was 'hearsay' when Curley and Schultz heard it. And 23 Pa. Cons. Stat. Section 2311 technically doesn't make Curley or Schultz responsible for reporting; the statute makes Spanier responsible. Curley and Schultz are only responsible because they didn't report up the ladder and failed to report it to the proper authorities.

[Neverforget01]

So you are calling for prosecution of ESPN or not?

Truth is if Paterno had not gone to University officials about what he had been told (not witnessed) he would still have his job...just like Boeheim does (and the folks at ESPN).

ESPN didn't do enough! In fact, they didn't do anything!

[the808bass]

So you are calling for prosecution of ESPN or not?

Under what statute?

Boeheim only temporarily has a job. I suspect his initial statements (that Davis was just after money) may be his eventual undoing. This story is still developing.

As for ESPN, no, they didn't do enough. Whether they were legally required to or not. Just like Joe Paterno.

[NormsRevenge]

I remember the day when it first busted thru on the medium.. sports, lots of sports..

When they dropped the exercise gals uhhh workout programs, it was all over here.. Somehow, Leanne Tweedy made it to the next level tho.. still in purty darn good shape too.. ;-)

and then there’s Chris Berman? That’s another case.. is he gonna be carted off the set when he finally signs off? espn has definitely been an incubator.. of what remains an open question for many.. the schtick wore off a long time ago..

[donmeaker]

Disney has a lot of homosexuals who work for them. Homosexuals sometimes prey on children. Perverts of a feather, flock together.

[Neverforget01]

As for ESPN, no, they didn't do enough

So they should be fired, like Paterno, only the MSM is immune from the outrage they heap on others.

[38special]

ESPN, the Eastern Sports Propaganda Network.

[jurroppi1]

So why didn’t the newspaper turn the tape over to the police? Journalistic integrity? They should be held to account also!

[jurroppi1]

Oh, and if he got the tape (received it) when the police were doing their investigation, then he definitely received it after the kid reported the incident to the police (my original assertion). My gut still says that he was unhappy with the progress, direction (or quite possibly both) of the investigation, got tired of waiting and looked to generate exposure any way he could. If he already reported the incident, then he was willing to deal with the shame of having been a victim of the crime. At that point, exposure of the perp by any means necessary was as likely as anything to cause recompense by the perp.

[BigSkyFreeper]

They enabled a pervert to get away with sexual abuse for 9 years. They weren’t even a bit curious the whole time.

[BigSkyFreeper]

I dunno which ESPN you were watching but they were visibly upset he got booted. Not once have they even stopped to think about all those victims of sexual abuse at the hands of sexual deviants as if ESPN somehow thought these perverts needed to be shielded and protected from criticism. Fast forward to this event and it all begins to make sense.