EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State showed Adolf Hitler's image as part of a pregame quiz on videoboards before playing No. 2 Michigan on Saturday night, and later apologized for the inappropriate content provided by an outside source.
Hitler and Austria, his birthplace, flashed on the videoboards long enough for some on social media to share what was seen by some fans more than an hour before kickoff.
“MSU is aware that inappropriate content by a third-party source was displayed on the videoboard prior to the start of tonight’s football game," Michigan State spokesman Matt Larson said. "We are deeply sorry for the content that was displayed, as this is not representative of our institutional values. MSU will not be using the third-party source going forward and will implement stronger screening and approval procedures for all videoboard content in the future.”
The pregame quiz provides content well before games on videoboards.
The Board of Trustees released the following statement Sunday afternoon:
"The Michigan State University (MSU) Board of Trustees is outraged at last night’s incident at Spartan Stadium. The projected image was unacceptable, and as the oversight body for MSU we want to publicly apologize to everyone who was in Spartan Stadium or learned of this through other means.
The board has spoken with Interim President Teresa Woodruff and Athletic Director Alan Haller and conveyed to them our extreme disappointment and our demand to know how this happened. MSU personnel must be accountable and held responsible for this disgusting display.
Every person in the MSU community and our guests deserve to feel safe and that they belong. The board does not condone bigotry of any kind. We will take necessary steps to ensure that our athletic department and the administration live up to that expectation at all times. The board demands that MSU administrators thoroughly examine all the factors and actions that led to this incident and report back to the board and the public about how this happened and who will be held accountable."
Michigan routed Michigan State on the field, a year after the Spartans roughed up their rivals following last year's loss and were suspended.
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