Michigan State University has apologized for a photo of Adolf Hitler that appeared on the Spartan Stadium video board during a quiz before the football game against the University of Michigan on Saturday.
The image appeared on the screen as part of a quiz question about where Hitler was born, according to footage of the incident shared on social media, CNN reported.
MSU assistant athletic director Matt Larson issued a statement released Saturday apologizing on behalf of the school.
“MSU is aware that prior to the start of tonight’s football game, inappropriate content from a third-party source was shown on the video board,” Larson wrote. “We are deeply sorry for the content that was shown because it does not represent our institutional values.
Texas A&M freshman who died after falling from balcony remembered at vigil: ‘Very bright person’
The statement continued, “MSU will not use third-party sources going forward and will implement stricter vetting and approval processes for all video board content going forward.”
MSU Interim President Teresa K. Woodruff also sent an email to alumni Sunday apologizing for the events at the trivia quiz, according to CNN.
“I am deeply sorry for the image displayed at Spartan Stadium, which has left many in our community feeling alienated and unsafe. It was unacceptable,” Woodruff wrote. “I sought a full review of this university event last night and will take all necessary steps to align our messaging and actions with our values.”
“I will work with our Jewish community and every member of the minority population to ensure that Spartans feel that this is a place where everyone can live, work, attend classes and attend events where everyone is welcome,” the email concluded.
A high school senior who was rejected by more than a dozen colleges gets a ‘monthly’ job at Google
According to CNN, MSU said the quiz was from a video on The Quiz Channel’s YouTube page.
“Prior to last night, the content was not objectionable,” MSU wrote, according to CNN. “As the statement confirms, we will implement stricter vetting of all content to ensure that something like this never happens again.”
However, creator and producer of The Quiz Channel, Floris van Pallandt, said in a statement to CNN that he was “completely unaware of this and that due to this occurrence, only learned content that I created was used.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“While I provide custom content packages for businesses, using my publicly available YouTube content for stadium entertainment is questionable to say the least,” explained van Pallandt.
“MSU’s subsequent statement appears to allude to a third-party source, suggesting Quiz Channel as the same source,” he continued. “If this is true, it is unacceptable to me, just as it is unacceptable for The Quiz Channel to suffer reputational, performance or financial consequences due to MSU’s unsolicited use of our content.”
Van Pallandt concluded: “The criminal issue being portrayed in the stadium is legitimate and it is imperative that we do not shy away from the darker aspects of history. Even so, I certainly wouldn’t have chosen this particular issue for a live stadium audience.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education