A football coach at Grand Valley State University in Michigan quit just days after he told a student newspaper how much he admired the leadership skills of Adolf Hitler, whose fascist agenda led to World War II and the deaths of six million Jews.
Grand Valley State University said Thursday it had reach a “mutual agreement” with Morris Berger, and that he was resigning, an NBC affiliate reported.
"In a poor effort to give an outside-the-box answer to a question, I mistakenly communicated something absurd," Berger said in an all-caps open letter announcing his resignation. "There is no justifiable excuse — it was insensitive and not my intent."
Berger was named to the job of offensive coordinator of the Lakers football team Jan. 20, and soon after was interviewed by the Grand Valley Lanthorn student newspaper.
When he was asked which historical figures he’d like to meet, the interview went off the rails.
“This is probably not going to get a good review,” Berger began, “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. 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.”
He was suspended as the university launched an investigation.
Head coach Matt Mitchell defended his hiring of Berger but determined it was best for all parties to part ways.
The Lakers play in Division II, the third tier of college football, and are usually one of the division's top programs. They have won four Division II national championships, all from 2002 to 2006, NBC News reported.
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