The president of Ohio State University is on the defensive after a video surfaced of him criticizing Catholics, saying that those of that faith are not to be trusted.
Gordon Gee said in a statement to The Associated Press that his comments were made in jest, but that they were wrong nonetheless, and he was sorry.
The video was from December, during a meeting of the school’s Athletic Council. Then, he remarked that Notre Dame wasn’t invited to join the Big Ten because the priests at the university didn’t make good partners — and “those damn Catholics” can’t be trusted, the Daily Mail reported.
He also said, in the video reported by the Daily Mail: “The fathers are holy on Sunday, and they’re holy hell on the rest of the week. You just can’t trust those damn Catholics on a Thursday or a Friday, and so, literally, I can say that.”
Ohio State University officials said that Mr. Gee was now facing a “remediation plan,” the Daily Mail reported.
Mr. Gee said to AP: “The comments I made were just plain wrong, and in no way do they reflect what the university stands for. They were a poor attempt at humor and entirely inappropriate. There is no excuse for this, and I am deeply sorry.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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