Wife of former Syracuse coach plans to sue ESPN for libel

Bernie Fine (right)

CNN Image

Bernie Fine (right)

CNN Image

(CNN) -

Laurie Fine, the wife of a former Syracuse University assistant basketball coach accused of molesting ball boys, plans to sue ESPN and two of the network's reporters for libel in a federal court, her lawyers said Wednesday.

A draft of the lawsuit says sports journalists Mark Schwarz and Arthur Berko "spitefully destroyed Laurie Fine's reputation in an attempt to capitalize financially in the tragic wake of the Penn State sex abuse scandal."

It says Fine's reputation was ruined by the malicious publication of false and defamatory accusations.

In response, ESPN backed its stories. "We haven't had an opportunity to review the complaint. We stand by our reporting," the sports programming network said.

Fine is expected to break her months-long silence Wednesday to talk about the accusations against her, her lawyers said.

"ESPN published worldwide defamatory statements about Laurie Fine," said one of her attorneys, Lawrence Fisher. "They have essentially ruined her life, destroyed her reputation in the Syracuse community that she loved and served for so many years."

Among the false accusations Fine alleges in the lawsuit are:

? Creating a space in which children could be sexually molested in secret.

? Witnessing her husband sexually molest children, but not doing anything to stop it.

? Knowingly permitting the sexual molestation of children in her home.

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