Laurie Fine to Sue ESPN For Libel
Andrew Kunkel
Laurie Fine, wife of accused sexual predator Bernie Fine, has filed a lawsuit against espn. The lawsuit accuses ESPN, reporter Mark Schwarz and producer Arty Berko, of improperly reporting the allegations against her husband and twisting her words to make a negative image of her character.
According to the lawsuit, Schwarz and Berko "spitefully destroyed Laurie Fine's reputation in an attempt to capitalize financially in the wake of the Penn State sex abuse scandal."
The lawsuit reads Laurie Fine "has been forced to sell her family home...to escape the predictable aftermath of the defendants' continued malicious publication of certain false and defamatory statements."
ESPN used a phone conversation Laurie Fine had in 2002 with Bobby Davis to imply that the two were in a sexual relationship and that she did nothing to stop her husband from allegedly molesting Davis. Davis, in a slander case against Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim also published comments stating that "he overheard Laurie Fine and the wife of another coach talk about performing oral sex on players and compare the players’ genitalia." This was also brought up on air by ESPN.
Davis, who told both the Syracuse Post Standard and ESPN that Bernie Fine, a coach at Syracuse's basketball program molested him in 2002 during his time as a ball boy at the university. Neither news organization ran the story, due to lack of evidence.
Once Davis' stepbrother Mike Lang came forward saying that Fine had molested him, ESPN decided that it was proof enough to run the story this past November. Lang, who is in financial trouble, told the Post Standard in 2002 that Fine never molested him. He has not commented on his change in stance on the subject.
According to the Associate Press, Libel in New York state is defined as "a statement that tends to expose a person to hatred, contempt or aversion or to induce an evil or unsavory opinion of the person in the minds of a substantial number of people in the community."
Laurie Fine will have to prove that ESPN made a gross departure from normal journalistic standards in court. The main question is whether or not she is considered a public figure. If she is not, then the case will be less difficult to prove. If she is considered a public figure then her lawyers must prove that ESPN published the information with "malice and reckless regard for whether it was true."