COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee is apologizing again for some remarks that were made public last week.
Gee released a statement Sunday saying that he apologized earlier in the day to the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors for remarks he made in December at an OSU Athletics Council.
“This morning, I apologized for hurtful remarks I made last December in a misguided attempt at humor,” Gee wrote in the statement released by the university.
Gee has been chastised by OSU’s Board of Trustees and could reportedly lose his job if a trend of embarrassing off-the-cuff remarks continues.
Gee in December referred to priests at Notre Dame as “those damn Catholics” and said they are holy on Sunday but “holy hell” the rest of the week.
He also remarked that the University of Louisville has poor academic integrity, that members of the Southeastern Conference can’t read or write and referred to former Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema, now at Arkansas, as a “thug.”
Gee said the comments about Bielema “were entirely unfounded, inaccurate, and unfair.”
Gee says he called Bielema Saturday to apologize and called him “a remarkably successful professional.”
Gee said Bielema was “most gracious.”
Gee’s comments came during an Athletic Council meeting where he was asked about Big Ten expansion, which included Rutgers and Maryland but not Notre Dame or any teams from the SEC.