Michigan State apologizes for Hitler image shown before football game

Michigan State University leaders apologized for showing an image of Adolf Hitler on the school stadium’s video boards shortly before a football game last Saturday, vowing for “greater oversight and processes” related to displays at future athletic events.

“I am deeply sorry for the offensive image we displayed on the Spartan Stadium video boards Saturday night,” Michigan State University Director of Athletics Alan Haller said in a statement Sunday night. “I apologize for the pain it has caused our community.”

The apology comes after images of Hitler and Austria, his birthplace, were flashed onto the sideboards at Michigan State’s Spartan Stadium more than an hour before the kickoff of the game against No. 2 Michigan last Saturday. The videoboards were showing a pregame quiz that plays ahead of the game.

“The image was harmful to our communities, especially our Jewish community which is currently experiencing a rise in antisemitism, including acts of violence,” Haller’s statement said.

Floris van Pallandt, the creator and producer of The Quiz Channel on Youtube, claimed the school didn’t ask for permission to use the content or pay him for it, according to The Associated Press (AP). He defended the Hitler question, which asked where the Nazi leader was born and showed his image before showing Austria as the answer.

“It’s an absolutely normal trivia question, shown in an inappropriate setting,” Pallandt reportedly wrote on his YouTube page. “Ignoring the dark facets of history is by no means the answer, on the contrary.”

According to the school’s apology, no one from the Michigan State Athletic Department viewed the video in its entirety prior to the display, “exposing a failure” in the process. Haller said the video was not part of a sponsorship or did not have any inflation with the school’s corporate partners or community, but will “ensure greater oversight and processes,” in the future.

An employee who was involved with the incident was suspended with pay pending an investigation that will “determine any future appropriate actions, Haller’s statement said.

In a another statement, Michigan State spokesman Matt Larson said the school will not be using “the third-party source moving forward.”

Haller said he will be reaching out to groups in the Jewish community along with other student leadership groups, adding it’s “important” they hear directly from him and have an opportunity to be heard.

“Antisemitism must be denounced,” the statement said. “The image displayed prior to Saturday night’s game is not representative of who we are and the culture we embody. Nevertheless, we must own our failures and accept responsibility. I understand our response might be met with skepticism. That skepticism is warranted, and we will do all that is necessary to earn back your trust.”