EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — 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.
Michigan routed Michigan State on the field, a year after the Spartans roughed up their rivals following last year’s loss and were suspended.