Gordon Gee “retired” as President of Ohio State

One Down, Two to Go

Don’t worry, I’m not going to ignore the news that came out about Major League Baseball today.  Not by a long shot.  That’s way too significant to simply sweep under the rug.  But I want to wait a little bit to see what comes out of it.  Suspensions seem likely, but there’s more to the story.  Besides, I already had today’s topic planned before that story broke.

Gordon Gee “retired” as President of Ohio State today.  I put “retired” in quotes intentionally.  Because I’m not really sure how much choice he had in the matter.  The way I see it, you can call it anything you want.  The bottom line remains the same though.  Gordon Gee had to go and everyone knew it.  So whether it was completely his decision or he was in fact forced out (which is what I suspect), Ohio State did the right thing.  Something that Rutgers can learn from.

After Gee’s latest round of idiotic comments, Ohio State’s Board of Trustees said that he should reconsider what speaking engagements he accepts.  Or, I have another idea.  He could just stopped saying stupid crap.  Pretty much anytime Gee opens his mouth, he offends somebody.  And it’s not like his comments came off-the-cuff in an isolated situation.  This man has made disparaging remarks about the intelligence of Southerners, Notre Dame, Catholics and the Little Sisters of the Poor (among others), and made light of the cash-for-tattoos scandal that got the football program placed on NCAA probation and cost Coach Jim Tressel his job.

When you have a school president repeatedly having to make awkward forced apologies, sincere or not, there’s a problem.  And Gee always tried to play it off as a “poor attempt at humor.”  Stick to the script, Gordon.  You should’ve learned after the first time that your jokes aren’t funny.  I also loved it how the Ohio State Board tried to have his back yet distance themselves from him at the same time.  My favorite quote was the one where somebody said his comments were “not presidential in nature.”  You think?

The bottom line is whenever Gordon Gee opened his mouth, he inserted his foot further and further.  He’s done a lot of good things for Ohio State University, but none of that matters.  Because his comments, in addition to doing a number on his own reputation, were a bad reflection on the entire university.  As a result, Ohio State was left with virtually no choice.  As much good as Gordon Gee did for the university, there’s no way he was going to save himself.  The public face of the University, what he was saying and doing in public didn’t represent the values Ohio State prides itself on.  If they kept him on as president, the Board would’ve looked like (a) hypocrites or (b) incompetent morons.  I’m not sure which is worse.

Contrast that to our friends at Ohio State’s soon-to-be Big Ten rival Rutgers.  Despite the firestorm that has surrounded new Athletic Director Julie Hermann since she was hired, she still has a job.  So does President Robert Barchi, who somehow survived the scandal that brought down men’s basketball coach Mike Rice and former AD Tim Pernetti, only to how find himself embroiled in this.  Thanks to Barchi, Rutgers has become a national laughingstock.  Just when they should’ve been celebrating their newfound athletic relevance with their admission to the Big Ten.

Barchi and Hermann should follow Gee’s lead and resign.  Neither one will, though.  Hermann’s ego won’t let her.  She’s convinced herself that all of these accusations against her are unfounded, even though common sense dictates that with this much stuff out there, there has to be something to them.  Regardless, the search committee should be embarrassed by its lack of due diligence.  Especially with what happened with Mike Rice, they couldn’t take the chance.  Yet they did.

But Barchi’s role in all of this can’t, and shouldn’t, be ignored.  He should’ve been canned along with Rice and Pernetti, yet he remains President of Rutgers University.  He’s even gotten a vote of confidence from Chris Christie.  Why?  Barchi’s role in all of this is just as significant.  He didn’t watch the video of Rice when it first came out, and now he backs Hermann despite the allegations against her.  I don’t know if it’s because he stubbornly doesn’t want to admit Rutgers made the wrong choice, but any other school would’ve done the logical thing and told her “Thanks but No Thanks.”  Not at Rutgers, though.  At Rutgers, that’s just standard operating procedure.

The only way for Rutgers to save face is to part ways with both Barchi and Hermann.  Except it doesn’t look like either one is going to go willingly.  So they need to step up, take a stand, and do the right thing.  Until they do, Rutgers will continue to be nationally known for all the wrong reasons.  Big Ten?  Try Big Joke.  And that’s not going to change as long as Robert Barchi and Julie Hermann are still around.

Rutgers only has one choice.  Just like Ohio State did.  The difference is a big one, though.  Ohio State had the balls to do it.  We’re still waiting on Rutgers.