It’s about time the finger was pointed in the right direction.

The three self-inflicted jabs at his own chest during the press conference after Syracuse knocked off No. 10 Florida finally expressed the sentiments long overdue from Jim Boeheim.

‘I believe I have misspoke very badly in my response to the allegations that have been made,’ Boeheim said. ‘I shouldn’t have questioned what the accusers expressed or their motives. I am really sorry that I did that, and I regret any harm that I caused. It was insensitive to the individuals involved and especially to the overall issue of child abuse.’

As Boeheim read from a written statement Friday night — doing so for the second time in as many games — his words seemed sincere. Speaking slowly and with clear difficulty following Syracuse’s 72-68 win over the Gators, Boeheim issued an apology for his comments made ‘without thinking’ last week following allegations of sexual abuse against then-associate head coach Bernie Fine.

He was sorry for calling Bobby Davis and Mike Lang — both of whom were former SU ball boys when Fine began allegedly molesting them — liars. He was sorry he spouted off at the mouth and said they were only looking for money in the wake of the Penn State scandal.

I’m sorry, too. I’m sorry his apology is eons too late.

Let’s put aside the fact that Boeheim’s baseless comments never should have been uttered to begin with. That goes without saying.

But Boeheim had since Sunday, when Syracuse University Chancellor Nancy Cantor made the decision to fire Fine, to step forward and publicly state that his remarks were ludicrous. That he didn’t seem pompous. Like he wasn’t capable of admitting his brash insensitivity.

The chances have been there, too. The statement Boeheim issued following Fine’s firing said he regrets any comments that ‘might have inhibited’ anyone with information from coming forward or that ‘might have’ been insensitive to victims of abuse.

Then, after Tuesday’s game against Eastern Michigan, it was Boeheim saying his statements were made based on the information he knew at the time.

Never did he take full responsibility for speaking brazenly about the plight of alleged victims of whom he knew nothing about.

‘What I said last week was out of loyalty,’ Boeheim said. ‘I reacted without thinking. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I’m trying to learn from my mistake, and this has been hard for me.’

Boeheim said after the game against Florida that he spent Thursday afternoon at the McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center in Syracuse talking with the director and several other people at the nonprofit organization dedicated to putting a stop to child abuse.

He vowed to do more going forward to help raise awareness and get the message out about child abuse. He said the issue of abuse is the ‘No. 1 thing’ that the Syracuse community should be concerned with.

And that’s all great. It’s great that Boeheim finally seems to get it. His words seemed genuine. And his tone of voice relayed a message indicative of legitimate introspection. 

Kris Joseph attested to that. Having been around Boeheim for four years, he said any apology from the head coach must have been real.

‘If he apologized, it’s because he really meant it,’ Joseph said. ‘He’s loyal, he’s an honest man. So if he said it, then he meant it.’

But the fact remains that Boeheim will never be able to go back in time. He cannot take back what he said, and he cannot undo any emotional damage the remarks may have caused to the accusers.

He said the situation has been ‘everything’ for him this week and admitted that he didn’t really think about Friday’s game in the days leading up to it. He could focus in practice, he said, but outside the gym it consumed him.

As he did during his press conference Tuesday, Boeheim repeated that his forthcoming remarks were of his own desire, that no one from the university or elsewhere told him what to say or to say anything at all.

But it appears that maybe it’s time for someone to realize that Boeheim must be controlled.

No one shushed him last week, and we saw the results. No one made him apologize this week, and by the time he chose to do so, it was beyond late.

Boeheim has admitted that sometimes he says more than people would like him to. Isn’t that enough of a cue for someone to step in?

‘I think in the comments it shows what I’ve learned,’ Boeheim said.

We’ll see.

Michael Cohen is the sports editor for The Daily Orange, where his column appears occasionally. He can be reached at mjcohe02@syr.edu, or on Twitter at @Michael_Cohen13. 

Published on December 2, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Michael: mjcohe02@syr.edu | @Michael_Cohen13