Getty Image
Michigan State University has changed its tune when it comes to explaining how a picture of Adolf Hitler ended up on the Spartan Stadium scoreboard.
The incident occurred prior to kickoff between the Spartans and rival Michigan Wolverines on Saturday when a trivia question asked which country the former Nazi leader was born in.
When the answer was showed, so too was a large picture of Hitler.
Michigan State issued a statement shortly thereafter blaming a third party for the incident.
“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,” the statement read. “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 strong stcreening and approval procedures for all videoboard content in the future.”
But now it appears that wasn’t entirely true.
Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller now says he has suspended an employee involved in showing the picture.
“Antisemitism must be denounced,” Haller said Sunday night. “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.”
Floris van Pallandt, creator of the YouTube show that asked the trivia question, says the Spartans are to blame.
“It’s an absolutely normal trivia question, shown in an inappropriate setting,” van Pallandt wrote on his YouTube page. “Ignoring the dark facets of history is by no means the answer, on the contrary.”
The incident is the latest in a long line of recent controversies for Michigan State. And the lack of clarity of its messaging following the incident won’t do the university any favors.