Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee is on the verge of being booted off the Columbus campus after his unseemly display of arrogance and ignorance.
Acting more like an incoming freshman, Gee had taken turns during a meeting insulting a wide range of schools and conferences Thursday, including the ACC, SEC, Big East, Louisville , Notre Dame and Kentucky. We’ll spare you any repetition or links to his remarks.
In a letter to Gee on behalf of the OSU board, Chairman Robert H. Schottenstein and Trustee Alex Shumate, the letter puts Gee on notice that inappropriate comments must stop. From the Columbus Dispatch:
“Although none of us expects this to be the case, should future instances take place, they could constitute cause for even more punitive action, including dismissal, and the board will have no choice but to take such action.”
To prevent future gaffes, the trustees laid out a plan that Gee must follow, starting with personal apologies to any groups he offended. Officials at Notre Dame yesterday said that he already had apologized to them.
Gee also sent a university-wide apology via email today, calling the December comments a “poor attempt at humor.”
“Quite simply, there is no excuse for my comments, which in no way reflect the core values of our university.”
That should hold him for a couple of months, but he’s on a short leash. What he really needs is a muzzle.
My former work associate, who is a retired huge ‘THE’ OSU alumni booster, had to say this about the situation:
“Dr Gee used to be a well respected university president and well like by the alumni including me. However, it seems that something (possibly advanced age) has caused him to have no ability to speak “off the cuff” and no ability to talk to the media. His and the athletic director’s handling of Tressel have caused many to think very poorly of our current administration. There is no reason for the head of any institution to “trash talk” any institution with the media. He thinks he’s funny but it’s not the right place to say things.
Jurich has done what he needed to do and that was get UofL out of the Big East and into the ACC. Gee is correct, the Big Ten would not take UofL because it fails to meet two of its main criteria. That’s all he needs to say.”
At their next meeting maybe GG can explain the criteria Rutgers and Maryland met.