dahblue

May 30th, 2013 at 2:01 PM ^

While a university president should have the foresight to guard his tongue in public comments, let's not compare members of a group to leaders of a group.  Personally, I wouldn't hold child rape against the next Catholic I sit next to on a plane, but I sure do hold it against the Pope (at least the last one), the Vatican and Catholic leaders around the globe.

You can't just permit (and facilitate) global child rape for decades and then get a thin skin.  As horrible as the Sandusky rapes are, Penn State is a nothing compared to the Vatican.  If the Church can't take a little ribbing, maybe it should've done something about all the children it allowed to be raped.

MichiganManOf1961

May 30th, 2013 at 2:52 PM ^

Oh please, if Gee had mocked anyone except for Christians and southerners, this wouldn't be taken as a joke.  Imagine the same quote with Jews or African-Americans, he would be fighting for his job at this very moment.  Though he's at risk too, because Mormons don't seem to have given the "protected minority" status.  Regarding your statement... what?  He was directly mocking CatholicS, not the church.  And the SEC comment... geez, ohio isn't exactly Harvard there Gordon... lots of flat-bill wearers down in your neck of the woods.

74polSKA

May 30th, 2013 at 3:11 PM ^

I'm pretty sure the Schottensteins would frown upon Jewish jokes too!  I'm not as offended by his comments as I am by his attitude.  Gee seems to think you can make fun of whoever "Buckeye Nation" sees as less than themselves and then just say sorry if you get called out for it.  Are we supposed to really believe that he is sorry or that he is not representing the overall attitude of the university when he continues making comments like this? At some point, either shut your mouth or quit apologizing! 

dahblue

May 30th, 2013 at 3:16 PM ^

Why do you keep going back to "if it were Jews or blacks"?  That has nothing to do with anything.  Yeshiva doesn't field a football team with an NBC contract.  Howard isn't negotiating with the ACC. 

Gee made some dumb jokes when he should've spoken like a university president.  That was about it.  He goofed on the priests at ND (not "Catholics" as a whole) for, essentially, being tough to deal with.  We are talking about the same ND that weaseled out of the Michigan contract just before kickoff, right?  Maybe he had a point.

Anyway, I'm not defending Gee.  He shouldn't have made the comments, but maybe save the outrage for something that matters.

artds

May 30th, 2013 at 3:31 PM ^

Apparently criticizing the Catholic church for forcibly raping a bunch of little kids then covering it up is also taboo. And ordinary (non-church-leader) Catholics aren't off the hook either. Anyone who continues to willingly associate with that institution after what they've done deserves whatever criticism comes to them.

Wolverine Devotee

May 30th, 2013 at 5:40 PM ^

If this isn't banhammer material I don't know what is. 1) discussing religion 2) Making ignorant remarks against a religious group 3) After he was sent to bolivia, he continues to run his little mouth. Herm is right. If it was muslims, gays or other persecuted groups he was hating on, he'd probably be banned. You can say what you want about me. I'm no saint either. I've posted ignorant remarks online about groups. But the difference is that it was on my social media and not on here that has clear no religion, no hate rules. And the sick thing is? This isn't even the first instance of anti-Catholicism on here. I have seen at least four examples on here in the last year. I'm sick and tired of it. You can neg me all you want, but when some ignorant piece of shit like this attacks MY religion, bet your ass I'm gonna shoot back.

MichiganManOf1961

May 30th, 2013 at 1:34 PM ^

Oh man, this story would have been much juicier had Notre Dame been a historically black college or Yeshiva.  Notre Dame's mascot is a brawling, drunk Irish midget, I think they've embraced even the harshest of Catholic stereotypes.

APBlue

May 30th, 2013 at 1:37 PM ^

From the article:

"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.

and:

"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.

What an assclown.  Incredible.  
 

HELLE

May 30th, 2013 at 1:39 PM ^

I'm just glad he is their President. As a Catholic, I thought his comments were kind of funny. Not very smart in his position but still funny.

Feat of Clay

May 30th, 2013 at 3:09 PM ^

The comments about Catholics are something I could brush off as a lame attempt at humor, particularly if he has had friendly relations with the leaders of Notre Dame. 

It's calling out a school like Louisville as being academically ineligible to join the Big Ten, or saying SEC schools can't read or write, that I think is super problematic.  We all know there are some academic differences among schools--it's in poor taste for a University President to bring it up in this particular way.