Michigan State issued an apology Saturday night after including Adolf Hitler in a pregame trivia segment on the Spartan Stadium videoboard. The segment asked fans to identify where Hitler was born. The image of the video board quickly spread on social media, prompting Michigan State to release a statement during their blowout loss to Michigan. The university attributed the inclusion of the German dictator to a “third-party source” responsible for the pregame content.
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh pic.twitter.com/DvNk6A3vn5
— Alexander Haenke (@aphaenke) October 21, 2023
“MSU is aware that inappropriate content by a third-party source was displayed on the sideboard prior to the start of tonight’s football game,” Michigan State associate athletic director Matt Larson said in a statement. “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 video board content in the future.”
The Spartans have two remaining home games this season. Nebraska will visit on Nov. 4, and Penn State will come to East Lansing on Nov. 25. Michigan State’s record dropped to 2-5 after their loss to Michigan. To secure a bowl game, they need to win four out of their final five games. The season has been challenging for the Spartans, as they fired coach Mel Tucker in September following allegations of sexual harassment toward an anti-rape activist who worked as a vendor for the school.
