Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - The latest investigation into the Syracuse University men’s basketball program surfaced on Monday with a Yahoo! Sports article by Charles Robinson and Pat Forde – and it didn’t take long for the buzz to spread on campus and beyond.
Shortly after the article appeared on the website, Syracuse University and the NCAA confirmed an investigation into drug test failures among former players was underway.
A new wrinkle emerged on Tuesday in the form of a Tweet from a member of the school’s faculty.
Adjunct Professor Dennis Deninger Tweeted, “If YahooSports is correct (PatForde is a very solid reporter), Boeheim is done. MikeHopkins will be tainted & won’t be next coach.AD could fall.”
The Yahoo! story by Forde and Robinson indicated that for more than a decade, several players had failed drug tests, but continued playing.
As of 4:30 p.m., the Tweet was still visible on Deninger’s feed. Deninger teaches sports communications at the school. He spent 25 years working at ESPN.
Deninger’s comment was retweeted numerous times and drew the attention of a critical comment from Orange legend Derrick Coleman demanding that he “leave Boeheim alone.”
Deninger declined to comment to NewsChannel 9 on his Tweet.
While some were critical of Deninger’s comment on the popular social media platform, university officials said it is entirely within the professor’s rights.
"It’s entirely free speech. Professors here can Tweet or not. I don't care. They can have Facebook pages or not, I don't,” said Professor David Rubin, former Newhouse School Dean.
As far as the accusations assembled in the Yahoo! article, Rubin believes it’s unfair that athletes are treated differently than other students.
"We don't test other students at SU for recreational drug use, we never tested Newhouse students, why should we, they're adults," Rubin said.
Rubin says he is not proposing that all students be tested - but that each student is treated equally. He added that such an investigation tarnishes a season that’s already been marked as much by scandal as success for the No. 2-ranked Orange.
"We've had enough with the Bernie Fine business, the NCAA will make us deal with it through whatever protocol they have and it might not be nice," Rubin said.
