Shock and Controversy: Michigan State's Stunning Pre-Game Mishap Goes Viral

Michigan State University issued an apology for featuring Adolf Hitler's image on the videoboard during a trivia quiz prior to their football game against in-state rivals, the University of Michigan, on Saturday. Prior to the kickoff, photos started circulating on social media depicting Hitler on the videoboard, accompanied by a trivia question pertaining to his birthplace.

"We regret to acknowledge that a third-party source displayed inappropriate content on the videoboard before tonight's football game," announced Matt Larson, the athletic director of MSU, in a statement. "We sincerely apologize for the displayed content, as it does not align with our institutional principles."

Larson further stated that the university will discontinue using the third-party source responsible for the offensive image and will establish more thorough screening measures for all videoboard content in the future.

Michigan State Interim President, Teresa K. Woodruff, expressed her sincere apologies in an email to alumni titled "The work we must do" regarding the inappropriate image displayed at Spartan Stadium. She acknowledged the negative impact it had on members of our community, making them feel alienated and unsafe. Woodruff deemed the image unacceptable and promptly initiated a thorough review of the university event, committing to taking all required measures to ensure our messages and actions align with our values.

"I will collaborate with our Jewish community and all marginalized populations to foster an inclusive environment where Spartans feel that they can thrive, whether it be in their daily lives, educational pursuits, or participation in welcoming events."

Michigan State football program continues to face a somber sequence of events, having suffered a disheartening 49-0 defeat against rival Michigan in their recent Saturday night game. Additionally, the university has taken steps towards terminating head coach Mel Tucker due to allegations of sexual harassment, a mere two years after he entered into a substantial 10-year, $95 million agreement.

The trivia also comes amid heightened tensions on many college campuses related to the Israel-Gaza war and amid concerns of rising antisemitism and Islamophobia.

Quiz was part of YouTube video

The university stated that the quiz had appeared in a video from a YouTube page known as The Quiz Channel. According to the university, videos from the same YouTube page had been utilized throughout the season before every home game. The university mentioned that up until the previous night, the content had not been objectionable. They further stated that they would now enforce more rigorous screening measures to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future, as acknowledged in their statement.

Floris van Pallandt, the founder of The Quiz Channel, informed CNN via email that the university had used his channels content without permission.

"I had no idea about this and only found out that my own content was being used because of this incident," he stated. "Although I offer tailored content packages for businesses, using my publicly available YouTube content for stadium entertainment is dubious at best."

Van Pallandt mentioned that his channel is currently receiving a considerable amount of negative feedback. In his message, he stated that it seems as though MSU's subsequent statement indirectly refers to The Quiz Channel as the source of the third-party information. He expressed his strong disapproval of this, emphasizing that it is unacceptable for The Quiz Channel to encounter any negative impact on its reputation, performance, or finances as a result of MSU's unrequested utilization of their content.

He argued that the inquiry regarding Hitler's place of birth was valid, albeit not entirely appropriate in that setting.

"The trivia question presented at the stadium holds validity, and it is crucial that we confront the darker aspects of history. However, I personally would not have selected this specific question for a live audience at a stadium," he stated.

CNNs Wayne Sterling, Keith Allen and Jamie Gumbrecht contributed to this report.