Customer Reviews

Personal Foul: Coach Joe Moore vs. The University of Notre Dame

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... Coach Moore is a simple and straightforward man who was thrown under the bus by his friend Davie after Davie maneuvered his former head coach Lou Holtz in front of that same bus. The reader learns of Davie's scandal ridden past and how the University looked the other way and even used its power to fight Coach Moore despite being totally in the wrong. ... An enlightening look at the dark side of an egomaniac...and an instiutution...that backed him.

Personal Foul: Coach Joe Moore vs. The University Of Notre Dame by Richard Lieberman is the true story of a volatile lawsuit that coach Joe Moore filed against the University of Notre Dame for age discrimination. From this suit came evidence of pervasive unethical conduct in a university football program that had formerly been given the highest regard. Commanding the reader's full attention, Personal Foul is a compelling and revealing exposé into the tangled and often dark complexity of human nature in general, and college football in particular. Highly recommended reading for college football fans in general, and University of Notre Dame alumni in particular.

A very well written book that is hard to put down. Joe Moore is a fascinating character, and the book reveals both the intricacies of litigating an age discrimination case and a behind the scenes look at the Notre Dame football program.

I couldn't put the book down. At first I was skeptical about whether or not the topic would appeal to me in that it is sports-related and about law. I'm not a sports enthusiast nor lawyer. But that was of no consequence. The book was riveting on another level: its narrative style. So if you like a good read, you'll love this book!

I agree with those reviewers who have praised this as a good read. But it is no more than a "war story," and would have benefited from better editing and been more widely and profitably read as a magazine article. To deserve a book, the author should have reflected on the wisdom of the law which he practices, not only on behalf of plaintiffs but defendants as well. Why should those over 40 deserve the same protection as those who suffer racial, gender, or handicap discrimination? All of us grow old, and while that may not be fair and may affect each of us in different ways, can we as a society want or afford to be swamped with litigation and all its attendant stress and cost to argue the issue in a myriad of cases? Should the next generation be put on hold in the meanwhile? Perhaps the only lesson of this book is that Head Coach Davie must not have worn a helmet in his playing days. Otherwise, he would never have made any reference to age, but fired the plaintiff without explanation, or by simply saying that he wanted to hire his own coaching assistants.

A very gripping story.If you didnt know it was true,you d think it was fiction.

Coach Moore is another in a long line of legends to coach under the Golden Dome. Unfortunately, Bob Davie is another in a shorter line of terrible head coaches hired by the Fighting Irish. As for the book, the author (and Moore's lawyer) would have you believe this is a tale of David vs. Goliath in the courtroom, and that his brilliant legal acumen brought the Notre Dame empire to his knees. Truth be told, a first-year law student could have won this case, and Notre Dame's legal department should be ashamed for ever letting this case go to trial. Bob Davie ADMITTED in public, to the Notre Dame football team and others, that Coach Moore's age had something to do with his termination. You don't need Clarence Darrow to tell you that is age discrimination, my friends, and only the arrogance (or perhaps stupidity) of the then-administration at Notre Dame let this case go to trial. If you hate Notre Dame, maybe you'll find pleasure in their bungling of this matter. In fact, had Notre Dame not been the Defendant, nobody would think twice about reading this book. There are pleny of better written and more interesting books on the legal system out there. Oh, and Joe Paterno coaches at Penn St. by the way...