March 29, 2024

Ohio State AD apologizes after Catholic comment

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The president of Ohio State University said Notre Dame was never invited to join the Big Ten conference 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.

Gordon Gee also took shots at schools in the Southeastern Conference and the University of Louisville, according to the recording of the December meeting of the school’s Athletic Council that The Associated Press obtained under a public records request.

The university called the statements inappropriate and said Gee is undergoing a “remediation plan” because of the remarks. He apologized in a statement released to the AP.

Gee contacted Notre Dame’s president, the Rev. John Jenkins, to offer an apology, which was accepted, the school said Thursday in an email, declining to say when the apology was made.