Gordon Gee
has stepped in it:
The president of Ohio State University said Notre Dame never was invited to join the Big Ten because the university's priests are not good partners, joking that "those damn Catholics" can't be trusted, according to a recording of a meeting he attended late last year.
At the December meeting of the school's athletic council, Gordon Gee also took shots at schools in the Southeastern Conference and the University of Louisville, according to the recording, obtained by The Associated Press under a public records request.
The university called the statements inappropriate and said Gee is undergoing a "remediation plan" because of the remarks.
Ooh, a "remediation plan!" Sounds like ol' Gordon has to get his mind right now. So what exactly did he say?
"The fathers are holy on Sunday, and they're holy hell on the rest of the week," Gee said to laughter at the Dec. 5 meeting attended by athletic director Gene Smith and several other athletic department members, along with professors and students.
"You just can't trust those damn Catholics on a Thursday or a Friday, and so, literally, I can say that," said Gee, a Mormon.
I'm a damn Catholic and I'm not particularly offended by this. The context of the remarks does matter. Gee was referencing the long-standing minuet between the Big Ten Conference and Notre Dame, which still has the most lucrative brand in college football. Ohio State and its conference brethren are by now quite tired of Notre Dame's antics and his mistake is a version of what's known as the Kinsleyan Gaffe, which is telling the truth at an inopportune moment. And while it's not right to cast aspersions on all Catholics, many of whom are quite trustworthy, we are often sinners on Thursdays and Fridays. I don't think I've committed a sin yet this morning, but I'll have ample opportunity once I get on 35W.
4 comments:
I was at "Ski U" right after Gordon Gee left, and to a man those who watched upper administration understood that he was more or less going to--as he did at West Virginia and Colorado--shore up the football program without particular regard to ethics. His years at Ski U were notorious for the number of players arrested and convicted.
So when he speaks of "the ends justify the means," he knows whereof he speaks.
He does wear a nice bow tie! He's really just the latest version of an old Confucian Saying "It's far better to keep your mouth shout and be perceived to be an idiot, than to open it and remove all doubt." One other observation, Gee's comments may anger Catholics but his life is more than likely not in danger. Had he made these comments against a certain other faith, the odds are he'd have to go hiding in fear of his life. There's been one constant in our recent society: it's ok to make religious slurs, as long as they are against Catholics.
BTW, he's apparently a Mormon with a dope-smoking ex-wife. They've come a long way since the Donnie and Marie specials of the 1970s..
(puberty love, pu.....)
But I bet he voted against North Dakota State keeping their Fighting Sioux name and logo.
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