Bill Gibbons Lawsuit Is Getting Ugly

BG’ s mistake was not looking in the mirror and realizing he was a “dead man walking” regarding recruiting D1 level players after the Ashley Cooper situation in 2013. He was protected then based on his record, and was given another chance to continue to be successful. At that point he was five plus years removed from his last PL Championship and a trip to the NCAA’s.

When you have a coach that makes national headlines for a toxic environment…..parents and high school coaches, particularly ones that you do not have a strong prior relationship, have concerns about sending their child to your program. Also of note, a member of his coaching tree, had a similar incident of a toxic environment at a school that became a Patriot League member. The Parks situation was the final straw along with a decade of less than stellar performance by the team, that highlighted why a change was needed.

It was a shame that BG after achieving a monumental six hundred wins the season before, did not see the hand writing on the wall, in 2018,  realizing that his coaching demeanor and style was no longer effective, and bowed out gracefully. 602 victories in 32 seasons would have been considered a very successful career. He could of had a nice send off both at the Hart Center as well as at the other Patriot League schools with multiple rocking chairs and clocks to display in an office focusing on athletic fundraising and PR.

www.cnn.com/2013/10/16/us/holy-cross-coach-lawsuit/index.html

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_Greenberg

1. Why do you say the charges were bs?
2. I've never heard anyone say or suggest that there was any inappropriate conduct by BG
3. HC, or any college, ignores allegations of misconduct at its peril

Stunning: the Judge hearing the case dismissed all of BG's claims with prejudice for committing fraud in the discovery process. I've practiced law for 46 years and it's hard to overstate how unusual and draconian (but perhaps appropriate) this is.

In case it hasn't been mentioned enough, commentary based on actual legal experience from all the lawyers on the board is very helpful and enjoyable. Thank You!

A very sad chapter in HC sports history - really a shame Bill did not accept the fact that he was falling short of expectations and just take the 600 career wins and move on to another job - very poor judgement all around

For the time being, the ruling has gone unnoticed except here.  

Please provide the ruling from the court.

CHC8485''s post doesn't open to the document for me so I copied and pasted the document here but I have decided to take it down because it would show up in Google. If you click on the links in CHC8485's post, you can do the following to get to the decision:

1. Click on "Click here"
2. This will take you to a second page. There, under Court Department click on Superior Court, then under Court Division, use the drop down menu to Worcester Superior Court.
3. Then search by name, Gibbons and William
4. It will then take you to a list of two cases. Choose the employment case which will take you to a list of pleadings, etc.
5. The decision is at the bottom.

It would be nice if BG could restore his reputation & get back into the game in some capacity.

Just a very sad situation and totally unnecessary. I repeat myself. He was NOT fired, his contract was non-renewed. While many would equate the two, they are not the same. There was an agreement for X# of years. The contract expired. He was not rehired. At no time did I ever read that HC expressly or by implication say his non-renewal was due to inappropriate sexual activity or harassment while there might have been investigations of such conduct.

The reality is that Coach Gibbons was once a very good, if not excellent coach. However, he lost his proverbial "fast ball" and should have been let go years before. My personal guess is that Holy Cross appreciated his many years of service and consequently let his contract run its course. 

While not the coach he once was, I have little doubt that he would/could have found another position fairly easily but likely at a D-2 or D-3 level. That apparently wasn't the way he wanted to go and chose instead to fight and, as indicated in the court documents, he fabricated and lied. I believe he would have lost the case on its (lack of) merits but this was the final nail in his career coffin. I'm not sure if there's any way that anyone would hire him as a coach now. 

I feel badly for him that he put himself in this desperate situation. As others said, he likely could have gotten an administrative position at Holy Cross.  

Sadly, mistakes do happen. I remember hearing about his behavior at occasional mealtimes where he got up on a chair in the dining hall and exhorted the students to come to the game and to support their team. It worked.

He was not fired, as you correctly point out and, for whatever reason he had, spread lies about what actually happened. It coud have been so much better...but most of the blame seems to fall upon him, not HC.

He is at least 64 years old (graduated Clark in 1981)...I don't see him getting a job again at his advanced age.