Axed Syracuse University assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine intends to file a defamation suit against ESPN over its previous reporting that he sexually abused young boys.

Four people accused Fine of molesting them, including stepbrothers and former Syracuse ball boys Mike Lang and Bobby Davis, who in 2011 accused the coach of molesting them over several years.

Fine, who served as assistant basketball coach at Syracuse for 35 years, maintained his innocence throughout the investigations, and no charges were ever brought against him.