Ohio State prez apologizes for disparaging remark

COLUMBUS (AP) — The president of Ohio State University has apologized to a Polish-American group that slammed him for comparing the problem of coordinating the school’s many divisions to the Polish army.

In an email today, Gordon Gee told a spokeswoman for the Polish American Congress that his remark was “ill-chosen” and said that he realized at the time that he’d made a mistake.

The group had issued a statement Thursday calling Gee’s comment slanderous and a slur against a military that the group said has fought valiantly and effectively with the U.S. in Iraq and Afghanistan. The statement said the Ohio State president showed bigotry and ignorance.

Gee made the comment during a question-and-answer session on Wednesday in Columbus. Afterward, he denied he was saying anything bad about Poland.