FanPost

Don't blame the accuser now

It makes sense for us as Syracuse fans to try to poke every hole in the accuser's story about Bernie Fine. I have been doing it for about 12 hours now, and I will probably continue to do so over the next few days, at least. The fact is, we WANT this to be untrue, for so many obvious reasons. So we are trying so hard to look for any reason to believe it's untrue.

But I think we all just need to take a breath, because I fear the reaction is starting to go in the other direction, and people are jumping to conclusions about the accuser, and blaming him for what has happened.

We need to encourage anyone who has ever been put through something as horrible as these guys are claiming happened, to come out and look for justice. By immediately skewering people who come forward with their story, it discourages others from doing the same. If someone who was molested as a child sees that these people are being torn apart by fans and the media immediately, they will NEVER come forward with their story. 

We need to foster an environment where victims of sexual abuse can come forward without fear or shame and can rightfully get the justice they deserve. Penn State did not foster this environment. We need to be better.

While I hope this turns out to be completely false, I fear the greater impact on the many children that have unfortunately had to deal with such horrible things. And I would never want them to stay silent for fear of being ridiculed by the public. That would be sadder than anything.

Note: if it does prove to be completely false, and the accuser is just looking for money, then he should be ridiculed for ruining the environment I just said should be in place. But we are nowhere near that point yet, and we should wait until A LOT more facts come out before jumping to that conclusion.