On Saturday, an interstate rivalry would eventually turn into a blowout as the Michigan Wolverines spanked the Michigan State Spartans 49-0 in East Lansing.
Things have gone downhill quickly for the Spartans (2-5) after Mel Tucker was first suspended and then fired last month for sexual misconduct.
But on that night, Michigan State completely shocked the world.
Not by the onfield obliteration by its in-state rival but by displaying an image of Hitler on its scoreboard.
Yes, that Hitler.
During a pregame in-stadium trivia game, Twitter/X user Aphaenke snapped a photo of the onscreen image and shared it for all to see.
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh pic.twitter.com/DvNk6A3vn5
— Alexander Haenke (@aphaenke) October 21, 2023
According to The Athletic, the question was about where was Hitler born, but that isn’t the real question and the answer doesn’t matter.
The real question is why in the world would Michigan State post a question about Hitler in the first place. Especially at a time when we’re experiencing multiple wars, visions of genocide and terrorism and a wave of fascism that has risen both in the U.S. and abroad.
According to the university, the video was produced by a third party. School officials issued a statement apologizing for the incident and stating they would no longer work with that company.
“MSU is aware that inappropriate content by a third-party source was displayed on the video board prior to the start of tonight’s football game,” said Michigan State spokesman Matt Larson 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 videoboard content in the future.”
That’s great, but how could a major university allow this to happen? When items are submitted by third parties, in this case, YouTube channel “The Quiz Channel”, (time stamp 10:47), aren’t they reviewed for authenticity, subject matter, style guide parameters, sensitive content and language, etc.?
And for it to happen in a state where domestic terrorists were caught plotting to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer makes it even more indefensible.
At a time when war is devastating countries and killing families, where knowledge and history are being restricted and whitewashed and basic human rights are being suppressed and threatened, this incident at Michigan State involving a question about one of the most evil men in all history is absolutely mindblowing, infuriating, dumbfounding and completely inexcusable.
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