Notre Dame Guilty Of Age Discrimination -- Jury Decides School Recklessly Fired 64-Year-Old Assistant

LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The case that woke up echoes nobody at Notre Dame wanted to hear finally ended, and the thunder could shake down the school for a long time to come.

A jury decided yesterday that Notre Dame discriminated against Joe Moore, former offensive line coach, because of Moore's age when it fired him on Dec. 2, 1996. Moore was 64 at the time.

The jury also decided Notre Dame's discrimination was willful, meaning the firing was reckless, and the awarded back pay of $42,935.28 will be doubled to $85,870.56. Further damages, including legal fees and "front pay" - anticipated future earnings - will be determined at a hearing July 28 in South Bend.

Notre Dame has never been known to take defeat well, and yesterday was no exception.

"I am obviously disappointed in the outcome," stoic Coach Bob Davie said on the steps of the courthouse. "But I'm obviously relieved this is over."

The trial painted a seamy picture of the Notre Dame football program, making it seem as though infighting and back-stabbing were commonplace.

"It's not one of our proudest moments to have all these matters before the public," Athletic Director Mike Wadsworth said. "(Moore's side) obviously did a lot of things calculated to embarrass this university."

Most of those embarrassments were presumably put to the side when the jury began its four-hour deliberation, but then another one came to light with the verdict. With Davie's word pitted against

Moore's, the jury believed Moore, not the leader of the Irish football team.

"I'm just glad that they believed me," Moore said. "People who know me know I don't lie."

Technically, Moore won, but presiding U.S. Judge Allen Sharp said he has his doubts.

"I believe deeply that there are no winners here," Sharp said after reading the verdict.

It will be up to Sharp to determine any further damages at the July 28 hearing, but he did not sound inclined to make Moore a wealthy man. He also said he would not reinstate Moore to his position.

Moore had sought at least $1.3 million in a settlement, and he will probably fall well short of that.

Much of the testimony cast Notre Dame in a bad light. Bob Chmiel, assistant coach/recruiting coordinator, was said to have been smoking cigars and drinking with one player at a party where several underaged Irish players were drinking. Davie admitted questioning Holtz's mental stability, while Moore allegedly referred to Holtz as "the little bastard in glasses." Moore was said to have hit players on numerous occasions, and a group of players once watched loudly as a male and female cheerleader had sex.

Because of the embarrassing nature of the trial and the low damage award, Notre Dame is unlikely to appeal and go through this again.

"I'm looking forward to going back to what I do best, and that's coaching football," Davie said.

What Davie does not do best, clearly, is testify. On several occasions, he either contradicted his own taped deposition or incriminated himself.

Davie admitted that, after firing Moore, he told former graduate assistant Justin Hall, "Let's face it - he's 64 years old," and that he mentioned Moore's age on a couple of other occasions but couldn't recall why.