Legendary actor William Shatner, the guy who got the part in the CBS show, wouldn’t have stood a chance against Ohio State’s prez.
Gee could have simply channeled himself in delivering the role he was born to play and added primetime Emmy winner to his list of accolades.
The 69-year-old said Wednesday he decided to retire after taking a cruise with his family. He was in the midst of another foot-in-the-mouth controversy when the exit was announced Tuesday.
The latest controversy involves off color “jokes” about priests at the University of Notre Dame, Catholics in general and other universities.
One in particular seemed plucked from the "$#*! My Dad Says" Twitter account:
“…the fathers are holy on Sunday and they’re holy hell on the rest of the week. You know, you just can’t trust those damn Catholics on a Thursday or Friday and so. Literally, I can say that. Very true. Father Joyce was one of those people and who ran the university for many, many years.”
Justin Halpern, the son behind the $#*! My Dad Says Twitter account the TV show was based on, would have had to edit down that comment.
I could totally hear a ‘dad’ or Vice President ‘Uncle’ Joe Biden (joking) making most of the gaffes credited to Gee — I may have given the one mentioned above a ‘I-can’t-believe-you-said-that’ laugh — but not a dad who leads one of the nation’s largest universities and takes home a bajillion in taxpayer dollars annually.
5 examples of $#*! Gordon Gee Says
The Dayton Daily News has compiled a list of gaffes from Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee. Cue the uncomfortable laughter.
December 2012 — At an Athletics Council meeting, Gee said Notre Dame was never invited to join the Big Ten Conference because they're "not very good partners" and "the fathers are holy on Sunday and they're holy hell on the rest of the week. You know, you just can't trust those damn Catholics on a Thursday or Friday and so. Literally, I can say that. Very true. Father Joyce was one of those people and who ran the university for many, many years." Gee also implied that the SEC can't read or write and that the University of Kentucky and University of Louisville were not academically worthy of joining the Big Ten.
January 2012 — Gee quipped that OSU's individual colleges used to operate like PT boats shooting at one another in the ocean. "It was like the Polish army," he said.
March 2011 — Gee brushed aside a question about whether then head football coach Jim Tressel would be fired. "Are you kidding me? Let me just be very clear. I'm just hopeful the coach doesn't dismiss me."
November 2010 — Gee remarked that Ohio State's football schedule is tough. "We do not play the Little Sisters of the Poor. We play very fine schools on any given day. So I think until a university runs through that gantlet that there's some reason to believe that they not be the best teams to (be) in the big ballgame.
1992 — Following a tied game against Michigan, Gee said: "This tie is one of our greatest wins ever."
Sources: Dayton Daily News, Columbus Dispatch and The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer
Contact this columnist and blogger at arobinson@DaytonDailyNews.com or Twitter.com/DDNSmartMouth
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