"Two men who say they were sexually abused by a former assistant basketball coach at Syracuse University have sued the school and head basketball coach Jim Boeheim for defamation.
Bobby Davis and Mike Lang accused ex-Syracuse associate head basketball coach Bernie Fine of molesting them during the 1980s and '90s. They made the accusations in interviews with "Outside The Lines" in November.
When the first "OTL" story was broadcast and published, Boeheim called the accusers "liars" who were looking for money.
"You know how much money is going to be involved in civil suits?" Boeheim said. "I'd say about $50 million. That's what this is about. Money."
Attorney Gloria Allred said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon in New York City that the two men have filed a lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court. Davis previously maintained that he is not looking to sue Fine.
Allred said after repeatedly telling the world that Davis and Lang were liars, it's time for the university and Boeheim to be held accountable.
"It really hurt me to learn coach Boeheim had accused me of lying," Davis said.
Victim advocates reacted angrily and called for Boeheim to resign or be fired when he questioned the motives of Fine's accusers. He later apologized, saying he "misspoke very badly" in questioning the accusers' motives and and regretted any harm he had caused.
That's not enough, said Allred, whose recent clients include a woman who accused presidential candidate Herman Cain of making unwelcome sexual advances.
"Those words came too little, too late," she said during Tuesday' news conference.
Boeheim declined to comment on the lawsuit Wednesday, ESPN.com's Andy Katz reported.
Davis was a ball boy for the team in the 1980s. Lang is his stepbrother. Fine since has been fired.
Lang said that when Boeheim suggested "my little brother and I were lying" he "felt sick to my stomach."
The U.S. attorney's office is investigating the case in Syracuse.
Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said last week that Davis was credible, but that he couldn't investigate under state law because the statute of limitations had expired.
Fine has denied the allegations. The U.S. attorney's office is investigating.
Also Tuesday, a third man who accused Fine of molestation said he fully expects to go to prison for sexually abusing a boy in Maine.
Zachary Tomaselli, of Lewiston, Maine, wrote on Facebook that he's looking to "find strength to get through this" as plea negotiations continue. He's already admitted that most of the accusations are true and says he takes responsibility for "the hell I put this teen through."
Syracuse's school newspaper, The Daily Orange, quoted Tomaselli as saying he expects to spend two years behind bars.
Tomaselli is now under a gag order. His remarks to the newspaper and on Facebook were made before it went into effect.
A message was left Tuesday for Tomaselli's lawyer.
Also, attorneys for Fine told a judge on Tuesday that they don't object to the release of the search warrant application that led authorities to take computers, cameras and other material from his home.
Records already unsealed by a judge show investigators looking for pornography that could be used "to sexually arouse or groom young males" and records detailing Fine's contact with boys.
The application cites information or evidence used to establish a basis for the federal warrants.
Federal prosecutors didn't immediately return a call seeking comment."
