Ohio State president to retire after Catholic jokes

ESPN reports that Ohio State President Gordon Gee is going to retire effective July 1 on the heels of insensitive jokes about Catholics, the University of Notre Dame and the Holy Cross fathers who run Notre Dame. I wrote about this on Thursday.

According to ESPN:

Ohio State University president Gordon Gee announced his retirement Tuesday after he came under fire for jokingly referring to "those damn Catholics" at Notre Dame and poking fun at the academic quality of other schools.

Ohio State initially called the remarks unacceptable and placed Gee on a "remediation plan" to change his behavior. Gee, 69, said in a statement that he decided during a vacation last week to step down on July 1.

"During my days away, I also spent some time in self-reflection," Gee said. "And after much deliberation, I have decided it is now time for me to turn over the reins of leadership to allow the seeds that we have planted to grow. It is also time for me to re-energize and refocus myself."

According to a recording of a Dec. 5 meeting obtained by The Associated Press under a public records request, Gee said Notre Dame was never invited to join the Big Ten conference because "you just can't trust those damn Catholics."

An email request for comment from Carolyn Jurkowitz, executive director of the Ohio State Catholic Conference, has not been returned.