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Morris Berger, an offensive coordinator for the Grand Valley State football program, found himself in some hot water over some comments that anyone with common sense would tend to avoid making. In a recent interview, Berger made the boneheaded decision to praise the leadership of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
Predictably, Berger was suspended for his comments which came during a discussion with the school newspaper, The Grand Valley Lanthorn.
Berger was asked: “So you graduated from Drury with a degree in History, you’re a history guy. If you could have dinner with three historical figures, living or dead, who would they be? And I’m ruling out football figures.”
There are a number of ways you could answer that question without generating controversy, but Berger went the Hitler route.
“This is probably not going to get a good review, but I’m going to say Adolf Hitler. It was obviously very sad and he had bad motives, but the way he was able to lead was second-to-none,” Berger said. “How he rallied a group and a following, I want to know how he did that. Bad intentions of course, but you can’t deny he wasn’t a great leader.”
Berger later added John F. Kennedy and Christopher Columbus to his list of historic figures he’d like to enjoy a dinner with.
MB: Yeah, that’s definitely one. You have to go JFK, his experience with the country and being that he was a good president and everything. And this might sound crazy, but Christopher Columbus, the ability to go on the journey he was on and his emotion into the unknown. Think about putting yourself in the setting of that unknown, and then to take it all in as you arrive is crazy.
Reading it through text, it’s hard to tell whether Berger was trying to crack a joke or if he really appreciates Hitler’s leadership. But regardless, there are a few things you should never say and one of those things is showing support in any way for a man responsible for mass genocide.
