Ohio State President Gordon Gee makes fun of Notre Dame, Catholics

The president of Ohio State University said Notre Dame was never invited to join the Big Ten because the university’s priests are not good partners, joking that 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 Athletics Council, Gordon Gee 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.

Gee apologized in a statement released to the AP.

“The comments I made were just plain wrong, and in no way do they reflect what the university stands for,” he said. “They were a poor attempt at humor and entirely inappropriate.”

Gee, who has taken heat previously for uncouth remarks, told members of the council he negotiated with Notre Dame officials during his first term at Ohio State, which began more than two decades ago.

“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.

The Big Ten had for years courted Notre Dame, but the school resisted, seeking to retain its independent status in college football. The school announced in September that it would join the Athletic Coast Conference in all sports except football. It also agreed to play five football games each year against ACC teams.

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