MSU suspends staffer, says quiz not viewed in full
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller said he has suspended an employee involved in allowing Adolf Hitler’s image to be shown on videoboards at Spartan Stadium before Saturday’s football game against No. 2 Michigan.
The employee, who was not named, will be paid pending an investigation that will help to determine potential action in the future. Haller said no one in the department viewed the entire video, exposing a failure in its process.
“Antisemitism must be denounced,” Haller said in a statement Sunday night. “The image displayed prior to Saturday night’s game is not representative of who we are and the culture we embody. Nevertheless, we must own our failures and accept responsibility.”
The creator and producer of The Quiz Channel on YouTube, which includes Hitler’s image as part of a quiz, said the school didn’t ask for permission to use his content or pay him for it and defended his decision to include the question on his platform.
“It’s an absolutely normal trivia question, shown in an inappropriate setting,” Floris van Pallandt wrote on his YouTube page. “Ignoring the dark facets of history is by no means the answer, on the contrary.”
The channel is publicly available and free for users.
While the Wolverines were finishing off a 49-0 win over the Spartans on Saturday night, Michigan State spokesman Matt Larson apologized for the inappropriate content that was displayed more than an hour before kickoff.
“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,” Larson said.
Michigan State streamed The Quiz Channel, which had 40 questions in its latest video, including asking where Hitler was born with his image before showing Austria as the answer. The previous question asked, “In Star Trek, what color was Spock’s blood?” before green was shown as the answer.
“I am deeply sorry for the image displayed at Spartan Stadium, which made many of our community feel alienated and unsafe,” Michigan State interim president Teresa Woodruff said Sunday. “It was unacceptable. I asked last evening for a full review of this university event and will take all necessary steps to align our messages and actions to our values.
“I will work with our Jewish community and every member of minoritized populations to ensure Spartans feel that this is a place where everyone can live, work, go to class and attend events that are welcoming.”
Later Sunday, Haller apologized and said his department is responsible for all content on its videoboards.
“Ultimately, it is my responsibility to make sure all those who interact with Spartan Athletics feel safe, valued and respected,” Haller said. “The image was harmful to our communities, especially our Jewish community which is currently experiencing a rise in antisemitism, including acts of violence.”
Haller said he will reach out to Jewish community groups in the East Lansing area and on campus to tell them personally how his department failed and to provide a chance to give feedback.
“I understand our response might be met with skepticism,” Haller said. “That skepticism is warranted, and we will do all that is necessary to earn back your trust.”
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Jeff Passan, ESPN
The Washington Nationals demoted All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams to the minor leagues after he stayed out all night at a Chicago-area casino, leaving only hours before a Friday day game against the Chicago Cubs, sources told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers.
The 23-year-old Abrams led off for the Nationals and went 0 for 3 with a walk and strikeout in Friday’s game, which started at 1 p.m. CT. He was informed of the demotion Friday night, sources said. He will be sent to West Palm Beach, home of the Nationals’ minor league complex.
Because Abrams has been with Washington for the entirety of the season, the demotion will not affect his service time. Players earn a full year of service with 172 days on the major league roster, and Abrams already has exceeded that threshold.
Abrams could, however, file a grievance through the Major League Baseball Players Association to fight for lost pay if he believes the demotion unjust. He would lose around $30,000 of his $752,000 salary for missing the season’s final week. Abrams will be arbitration-eligible this winter, entering the system for the first of four times as a Super 2.
Acquired as one of the centerpieces of the Juan Soto trade two years ago, Abrams parlayed a breakout first-half into an All-Star selection, hitting .268/.343/.489 with 15 home runs and 15 stolen bases over the Nationals’ first 89 games. He struggled significantly in the second half, slashing .203/.260/.326, and Abrams’ defense has been a weakness throughout the season.
Still, the Nationals did not intend to send him to the minor leagues until they learned of his time spent at the casino, which was first reported Friday by CHGO.
“I just want it to be known it wasn’t performance-based,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez told reporters Saturday. “It’s an internal issue. I’m not going to give specifics.”
CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson defensive end Peter Woods will not play for the 21st-ranked Tigers against NC State on Saturday because of a leg injury.
The team announced Woods’ status about 90 minutes before kickoff. Woods, 6-foot-3, 315 pounds, got hurt two weeks ago on a chop block below the knee in a 66-20 victory over App State. Woods came back in briefly after getting checked then missed the second half.
The Tigers were off last weekend.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has said Woods’ playing status was day-to-day. Swinney said Woods had not missed a practice. But Woods came out to the field for warmups in sneakers and sweatpants while other defensive linemen went through drills.
Woods leads the Tigers with 2½ tackles for loss.
Third-year sophomore Jahiem Lawson is listed as Woods’ backup on the depth chart.
NC State will be without starting quarterback Grayson McCall, who was hurt last week in a win over Louisiana Tech. Freshman CJ Bailey started for the Wolfpack.
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Pete Thamel, ESPN
Utah quarterback Cam Rising is a game-time decision with an injury to his throwing hand, sources told ESPN, with the expectation that he will attempt to start.
No. 12 Utah plays at No. 14 Oklahoma State on Saturday, one of the biggest games of the season in the Big 12.
Rising has been limited in practice this week with the injury, and he is not expected to be 100% if he does play. He will be monitored closely to see how his injured fingers impact how he throws. The fingers play a huge role in both spin and velocity, which will impact his effectiveness in the passing game.
He injured his hand Sept. 7 against Baylor in the second quarter when he threw a ball away and was pushed out of bounds and landed awkwardly on the water coolers on the Bears sideline.
Rising warmed up with a glove on his hand before last week’s game against Utah State but did not play, and he was spotted with two fingers wrapped on the sideline against Baylor. It’s uncertain if he will use the glove on Saturday.
Utah’s offense plays a majority of its snaps under center and uses clapping as a mechanism in its snapping operation, which would both stress the fingers.
Backup quarterback Isaac Wilson is a true freshman who made his first career start against Utah State, going 20-of-33 passing for 239 yards and three touchdowns. He took first-team reps in practice this week when Rising wasn’t out there.
Wilson is the brother of former BYU quarterback Zach Wilson, who now plays in the NFL for the Denver Broncos.
Rising is a seventh-year senior who had emerged as one of the Pac-12’s top quarterbacks in 2021 and 2022. He has been snakebit by injuries in recent seasons, as an injury in the Rose Bowl following the 2022 season ultimately led to him missing the entire 2023 season.
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