Call us damn Catholics you lose your job

Ohio St. president retires after Notre Dame jab

 

 

                                                                              

  

Associated Press

Posted on June 4, 2013 at 2:36 PM

             

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio State University 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.
The remarks were first reported last week by The Associated Press, and Ohio State at the time called them 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.
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."