Ohio State president Gordon Gee left his position abruptly this week, after controversy mounted over a joke he made, referring to rival university Notre Dame as, “those damn Catholics.”
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State president Gordon Gee abruptly announced his retirement Tuesday after he came under fire for jokingly referring to “those damn Catholics” at Notre Dame and poking fun at the academic quality of other schools.
Ohio State called his words unacceptable and said it had placed Gee on a “remediation plan” to change his behavior.
Gee, 69, said in a teleconference that the furor was only part of his decision to retire, which he said he had been considering for a while. He said his age and the start of a long-term planning process at the university were also factors.
“I live in turbulent times and I’ve had a lot of headwinds, and so almost every occasion, I have just moved on,” he said. Gee explained away the abrupt timing by saying he was “quirky as hell” and hated long transitions.
He also said he didn’t regret the way he conducted himself as a higher education leader.
“I have regrets when I have said things that I shouldn’t have said, but I have no regrets about having a sense of humor and having a thick skin and enjoying life,” Gee said.
According to a recording of a Dec. 5 meeting obtained by the AP under a public records request, Gee, a Mormon, said Notre Dame was never invited to join the Big Ten athletic conference because “you just can’t trust those damn Catholics.”
What do you think? Was this a legitimate controversy, or just another case of political correctness run amok?
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