Notre Dame fighting lawsuit and image
Posted: Wednesday July 15, 1998 06:12 PM
The dirt always seems dirtier when it comes from
South Bend, Indiana. Don't you think?
That is why the
age discrimination law suit of former
assistant football coach Joe Moore against the
Univeristy of Notre Dame is so interesting.
Let's see, the 66-year-old Moore says he was
dismissed by head coach Bob Davie because Davie
thought he was too old. Notre Dame's lawyers say
that Moore was dismissed because he abused
players and "did not live up to standards."
Incidental
testimony revealed that Davie questioned former
coach Lou Holtz's sanity in 1996 and a former Notre
Dame assistant was "assaulted" by Holtz at halftime
of a game against Boston College and that ... well, you
get the idea.
This is like a divorce trial, all the family's ugly little
secrets brought from the busy kitchen into the stark
atmosphere of a courtroom before a bunch of
strangers.
It's not really remarkable stuff -- every
member of virtually every family has speculated once
or twice that Dad might be more than a little off
balance -- but because it comes from Notre Dame, it
has that delicious supermarket tabloid appeal.
The image Notre Dame always tries to project is a
certain "above the fray" perfection, the idea that
"we're better than everyone else."
The golden dome
always is as well-polished as a politician's high
forehead, supposedly containing the same grand
thoughts and pure-of-heart motives.
This is all public
relations nonsense, of course, because everyone is
human, and when it fails ... well, the rest of us in the
outside world get to read and laugh about the stories.
Too bad Linda Tripp wasn't out there with her little
tape recorder. Tell us more.
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