Michigan State University was sued over a question about Adolf Hitler that was shown on a screen at Spartan Stadium before games last season, with the quiz’s creators saying the university didn’t have permission to use a product “not intended for a mass audience at an American college football game.”
Floris Van Palland, owner of Cursilius Media BV and operator of a YouTube quiz channel, filed a federal lawsuit last week against the school’s board of trustees, seeking $150,000 in damages and legal costs. Van Palland claims that the use of the quiz is a copyright infringement and that Michigan State University’s public release of questions about Hitler has exposed the company to slander and ridicule, “especially in light of recent events.”
The question was asked on October 21 before a game between Michigan State and the University of Michigan. The video board at Spartan Stadium played a video from a YouTube channel, and among the 40 questions in a European history quiz was one asking where Hitler was born. A picture of Hitler was shown, followed by Austria as the answer.
University spokeswoman Emily Gerkin Gerant did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Those responsible for airing the quiz were disciplined, the university issued a public apology and athletic director Alan Haller said the university took responsibility for anything that appeared on the video board.
The Michigan vs. Michigan State game took place two weeks after the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.
In a separate apology, an athletic department spokesman said the quiz was “inappropriately sourced from a third party source” and that the school would not use that source in the future.
Van Pallandt alleged in his lawsuit that Michigan State did not have permission to use the quizzes and that “once the theft was discovered,” the university attempted to disparage Van Pallandt and Carsilius Media.
“The unauthorized use of the quiz was not intended to be intended for a mass audience at an American college football game and, particularly in light of the current climate, Plaintiffs believe that it should not have been used at such a time or event,” the lawsuit states.
Van Palland, a Dutch national based in Colombia, said in his lawsuit that if Michigan State had contacted him, he could have created a customized quiz suited to the venue and event and charged the appropriate fee.
“At the very least, this attempt to shift the blame by refusing to comment on Michigan State University’s role in this debacle is disingenuous,” the lawsuit states.
