(IntegrityPress.org) – Despite mainstream headlines appearing to suggest that anti-Semitism was involved, the events surrounding a recent projection of Adolph Hitler’s face on Michigan State University’s jumbotron remain unclear. The apparent lack of clarity is so evident that the now-suspended employee who was reportedly responsible for the October 21 instance is still being paid, according to MSU administrators.
For those unfamiliar, here is what happened. While Spartan fans were making their way into the university’s football stadium before kickoff, the school’s technical staff was running a round of trivia through the school’s massive video screen. Similar happenings routinely take place at other games nationwide as a means of keeping crowds entertained during downtime.
The question at the center of the controversy was only one of several that were projected to those in attendance, but it was the only one that included an image of the infamous leader of Germany’s Third Reich. Photographs of the occurrence were snapped and uploaded to social media, where they quickly went viral.
Allegations of intentional anti-Semitism were leveled against Michigan State and mainstream media coverage and public outcry forced the school’s administration to launch an investigation. Alan Haller, the university’s athletic director, released a statement saying that “antisemitism must be” condemned.
“The image” of Hitler that was “displayed prior to” the game does “not” represent “who we are” or “the culture” that “we embody,” he said. “We must” acknowledge “our failures and” take “responsibility” for the incident, Haller further stated.
The investigation’s precursory results determined that the clip of the National Socialist leader had been pulled from an episode on a YouTube channel called The Quiz Show. After being contacted about what took place in Michigan, the channel’s creator, Floris van Pallandt, opined that his video’s reference to Hitler was “an absolutely normal” piece of “trivia.”
Pallandt’s channel covers everything from questions about Halloween costumes to dog breeds. The MSU employee who pulled his content remains suspended.
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