ALLENDALE, Mich. — Grand Valley State University’s offensive coordinator has resigned following comments he made regarding Adolph Hitler.
Morris Berger — hired by the university Jan. 20 — was suspended Monday after telling a reporter at the student newspaper that he would like to have a meal with Hitler in response to a question during an interview.
"This is probably not going to get a good review, but I’m going to say Adolf Hitler,” Berger said in the interview. “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."
On Thursday, the university said it came to an agreement on his resignation, effective immediately.
“Over the last 11 years I have taken great pride in the responsibility and privilege of being a teacher, coach, mentor, and a valued member of the community,” Berger said in a statement. “I was excited and proud to be at Grand Valley, and am disappointed that I will not get the opportunity to help these players in 2020. However, I do not want to be a distraction to these kids, this great university, or Coach Mitchell as they begin preparations for the upcoming season.”
Berger also tweeted an apology.
An Open Letter. pic.twitter.com/twMZDUEKex
— Morris Berger (@Coach_Berger) January 30, 2020
Head coach Matt Mitchell said the controversy has been a difficult time for everyone and nothing in the school’s background or reference checks found anything that suggested an incident like this could happen.
