#ItMightMeanTooMuch: What to make of the coach/former SEC grad assistant who'd like to have dinner with Adolf Hitler
Don’t go there. Ever.
Those always have been and always will be the words used when the name “Adolf Hitler” is used in anything but a history lesson.
In any other context, it’s always a hard “no” to reference someone responsible for mass genocide. At least that’s how most human brains have worked for the better part of a century.
As we found out from Grand Valley State offensive coordinator Morris Berger, apparently that school of thought doesn’t apply to everyone.
Instead of providing the usual buttoned-up answers that you’d expect from a newly-hired coach, Berger referenced Hitler as a historical figure that he’d most want to have dinner with during an interview with the Grand Valley State student newspaper.
Here’s his full answer, which appeared on Lanthorn.com:
KV: 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.
MB: 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. 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.
KV: The way he was able to get people to rally around him was crazy.
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.
The words “this is probably not going to get a good review” probably should’ve told his brain to swallow whatever word vomit was about to come up. Somehow, it didn’t. And the crazy thing is that Hitler was his first response. It wasn’t like he was scrambling for an answer after he said “Martin Luther King Jr. and Teddy Roosevelt.” Nope. Hitler was just in Berger’s holster.
Also, what does Berger mean by “he wants to know how (Hitler) did that.” If you want to know how he led, there are books, movies, podcasts, documentaries, newspaper articles, whatever. It’s all there, man. Or, if you thought those things didn’t tell the full story about Hitler’s “second-to-none” ability to lead, you can literally buy his book “Mein Kampf” on Amazon without anyone ever knowing.
But you know what you shouldn’t do as a football coach at any level? Publicly say you wish you could sit down with Hitler so you can pick his brain about how to lead. No parent in their right mind would read a comment like that and think “Yep! That’s where I’m sending my kid to play!”
That’s the type of comment that’ll instantly get you suspended by the school that hired you a week ago.
Following Berger’s Hitler answer, the university released this statement (via WoodTV.com):
“The comments made by Offensive Coordinator Morris Berger, as reported in The Lanthorn student newspaper, do not reflect the values of Grand Valley State University,” the statement read. “Berger has been suspended and the university is conducting a thorough investigation.”
By “thorough investigation,” I assume that was pretty simply, hey kid, let us listen to the recording to make sure if that’s exactly what was said. If it was, well, they’d either reinstate him with a major Friday news dumb or they’d begin another search for an offensive coordinator. You know, like someone who doesn’t wish he could turn to Hitler for inspiration.
As we found out on Friday, Berger apologized and resigned following the suspension. According to Footballscoop.com, it was a forced resignation.
From now on, the Grand Valley State athletic director or whoever makes the hires should ask the same question in the interview process that the student newspaper reporter asked. If the answers are either Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, Saddam Hussein or Osama Bin Laden, that’s probably a sign that the coaching candidate under consideration isn’t going to be a fit. Like, anywhere.
In GVSU’s defense, I’m not sure anything about Berger’s past suggested he’d bring such negative headlines to the university before he even coached a game. He’s a young coach who spent time working his way up at FBS schools like Texas State, Oklahoma State and … Mizzou. Berger actually served as a recruiting and operations grad assistant at Mizzou for 3 years, and he got a master’s degree in educational psychology while he was in Columbia.
The irony is that at a place like Mizzou with such a respected journalism program, Berger probably never got much of a feel for the coach-reporter dynamic. Grad assistants don’t exactly speak to the media, and his media interactions as the Texas State tight ends coach (that was his position before he got the GVSU job) were probably few and far between.
Berger’s situation should serve as a reminder that in 2020, anyone speaking/tweeting/posting in a public forum has to have a filter. There are certain things you can apologize for, but that doesn’t mean you can take them back.
Fifteen years ago, we probably would’ve never heard about this story. It would’ve been spotted by the diehards on GVSU’s campus who HAD to read about their new offensive coordinator. In 2020, though, it doesn’t take much for that story to go viral … which it did.
Sports Illustrated, USA Today, Awful Announcing, SDS (shameless plug) and plenty of others ran stories on this. The issue is that until this story blows over — who knows when that’ll be — that’s what GVSU will be known for. It won’t be known nationally as the place where Brian Kelly won Division II national titles or as the place where they take dodgeball super seriously (I did my homework).
It’ll instead be, “Grand Valley State … isn’t that where that assistant coach claimed he wanted to have dinner with Hitler?”
As I always say, it’s never good when the negative recruiting is that easy. Even at a Division II school, there’s too much at stake for a football program to go viral for the wrong reasons. I’d argue it’s even steeper at a slope at a small school because those athletic department profit margins are that much thinner.
If Berger has to look for a new line of work following his resignation, I wish the best for him. I hope that he doesn’t go viral for the wrong reasons and that he has a better answer when asked a fairly common question to learn more about his personality. For now, though, Berger can at least hold on to being right about 1 thing.
His answer did not get a good review.
A “great leader”. The guy that set the world to war and lost in spectacular disgrace? That guy?
I think what most people mean when they say “great leader” is very effective leader. And it’s kind of hard to deny that if he could get an entire country to follow his crazy ideas and beliefs, he obviously had some pretty effective leadership skills.
Persuasive salesman maybe. Effective leader no. An effective leader doesn’t end up committing suicide in a bunker, with his cities bombed into oblivion, his country occupied under terms of unconditional surrender, and 50 to 60 million people dead (in the European theater, more than half Russians).
Doesn’t take “leadership skills” to whip up a mob; as evidenced by the sorry, excuse for a “leader” sitting in the White House right now.
Manipulate the ignorant; CHECK.
Demonize the Press; CHECK
Enlist the aid of foreign powers–enemy or not–to jeopardize, and undermine elections: GAME OVER
Trump is simply “Hitler Light.”
Yes, he is light millions of murders and a world war.
When people buy into narratives without checking the facts one can be easily manipulated to believe that a certain person or institution has your best interests, but in reality the opposite holds true. One single sheep can become millions flocking to a belief if the right conditions are met.
The idea that Hitler and Trump are in anyway alike is akin to saying Martin Luther King Jr. was the embodiment of Idi Amin.
We need to stop with the hyperbolic rhetoric.
He does have a rager for those despots & dictators tho..
@AF1970
Trump may not be hitler (yet) but he doesn’t get off that easy. There is a sign that hangs in the Holocaust museum that lists the warning signs of Facism. I will list them here:
1. Powerful and continuing Nationalism.
2. Disdain for Human Rights
3. Identification of Enemies as a Unifying Cause
4. Supremacy of the military
5. Rampant sexism
6. Controlled Mass Media
7. Obsession with National Security
8. Religion and Government intertwined
9. Corporate power protected
10. Disdain for intellectuals and The Arts
11. Obsession with Crime and Punishment
12. Rampant cronyism and corruption
13. Fraudulent elections
Doesn’t all of that sound eerily familiar over the last 4 years? I agree Trump is not Hitler but Hitler took years to get there and nobody stopped him. Go vote in November and cut this lunacy to 4 years.
Holocaust museum? I don’t think so.
@JTF Just search online for United States holocaust museum it is a real thing…unless you are a holocaust denier in which case not much more to talk about. But is that the only comment you have after what I wrote? Not thinking the museum is real?
Doesn’t take “leadership skills” to whip up a mob; Yeah, like how the DNC along with their Media arm does when they defend and encourage ANTIFA, when they burn and riot in American cities. No leadership needed, just a compliant DNC, and Media…
Manipulate the ignorant; CNN, MSNBC, New York Times, and 90% of the American FAKE Media in bed with the DNC; CHECK.
Enlist the aid of Domestic powers– FBI, CIA to undermine US elections – Spy on Trump. Make up a bogus Impeachment to erase the 2016 Presidential election. CHECK.
Like Hitler, use the Media and the highest powers in the Government to ‘Control Free Speech’.
Say something they don’t like and they will lock you up. Every DNC candidate has expressed the desire to pass those type laws. CHECK…
The Socialist – Fascist want to be Democrats are using Hitler’s play book to perfection. The only thing keeping them from finishing the job is the 2nd Amendment. Good luck with that….
The Democratic party and the liberal media are exactly like a Hitler run Germany. Control the media and condemn anyone who doesn’t think like you do.
Volman- yet he was the clear choice over the looney toons left led by the wicked witch of the US. You better take a hard look at the socialist agenda of your far left nut jobs before you decide against trump or any other non- democrat. They are all off the rails except for maayybbeee Biden but he can’t remember where he slept last nite.
Mankind has wandered around for 6,000+ years and you’re actually comparing some blowhard American president to one of the worst villains in the history of the world because he retweets Fox News clips and pushes for a wall on the southern border. God A’mighty, there is nothing like the Internet for finding what whackos have going on inside their head.
@Volman. Your willfully ignorant statement is an insult for the servicemen that had fought and died for our country. I would highly recommend that you read a non fiction book and educating yourself about world war 2 before making such an asinine assertion.
My opinion is, you just need to think about what you say before you say it. There are people out there that have selective hearing, and will take what you say as gospel. For example, like you Connor, when you said Dan Mullen was a top 5 coach in the country. It sounded cute, but we intelligent readers know that it was probably something that came to mind when you were vomiting in an unflushed diarrhea toilet and weren’t thinking clearly. Had you been actually in the right state of mind and genuinely meant it, probably would have been grounds for removal. But we get it, you’re good. You did have the 3 gator fans on here puffing their chests out, but we handled that part of it. Just don’t do any interviews with anyone from Grand Valley State. Ironically enough, that is where Mullen is going to land when he gets smoked again by UGA next season. Weird….
Do you realize how many of your comments on SDS are about Florida and Mullen? Not about Auburn, or Alabama, or Tennessee, or LSU, or even Georgia.
Florida.
I give his logic a 7 and his social awareness a 0.
Book Smart was feelin strong and fresh until Real World showed up and knocked him out. It happens.
What I want to know is why JFK was his 2nd choice. Was he wanting to get some Irish mob info on how to get shuttered into the presidency?
The Question wasn’t asked Historical leader. I’m sure he didnt think Hitler was a role model for today. But in the 1930s up till Japan hit us at Pearl Harbor there where plenty of Nazi organizations in the good old USA Henry Ford Lindberg and others thought Mussolini and Hitler got their country out of the Great Depression faster then FDR did. How he did it and kept it hid from the world was amazing. But I would like to know why he hated the Jewish religion just like I would like to know why we have skin heads and KKK still in this country screaming for whites only I would love for some of these people donate their brains to science to see what makes them sick and to keep them from leading a country to ruin and killing millions of innocent people, there are people today who compare Trump and Hitler together in one sentence. I think back and have to agree that Hitler’s speeches would stir the emotional of the German people who where were to blame for WW1 and we as a country have to come to a understanding that by not joining and being part of the League Of Nations should be part of the reason for WWII
I hate the fact people like Hitler existed and always will and we need to see them coming and shouldnt hide from them and not bring them up if we dont remember the evil they did we could repeat it again.
I dont think the reporter gave a way out for the interview honestly,
To make a long story short(to late), learn from history or you are doomed to repeat it.
The answer is Jesus, you dummy.
When someone asks you what historical leader you ever want to have dinner with or discuss leadership with or want to learn from, JUST SAY JESUS.
The answer is always Jesus.
It’s not Hitler, Stalin, or Mao. It’s not even a respected Confederate General like Robert E. Lee.
In fact, if you forget to say Jesus, say Lincoln. Jesus or Lincoln. Why is it so tough for people to remember this?
Don’t say Lincoln. It’s safe today, but he has too many quotes about being a white supremacist and he was trying to find an island to deport all of the blacks to up through the end of his life.
That’s exactly why I find it hilarious that Republicans call themselves “The Party of Lincoln.”
More White Supremacists, and bigots in the Republican Party than there are on the rest of the planet.
Didn’t you ever take a history class? The political party that supported and fought to preserve slavery was the Democratic Party. Hey, no need for historical facts.
Funny thing about history is things change over time & the parties of that time are totally different from today.
Believing one political party fought to free slaves and the other preserve it is already a misunderstanding of history.
Volman.
Which Political Party uses class warfare to divide Americans by Race, Age and Gender? Here’s your sign, It’s Not The Republicans! That’s straight out of the Fascist play-book…
That’s the same party that was responsible for the KKK. Your last Presidential Candidate Hillary, was real chummy with Senator Robert Byrd. He once led a local chapter of the KKK.
But, it’s really the Republicans? Right.
You are the proof that Hitler’s play-book is working in America today. You support a party that’s in bed with 90% of the Media (Hitler also controlled the media) . A party who supports a fascist militia, ANTIFA, who intimidates the masses by thuggery, Rioting and burning cars and buildings in our cities.
A party who inspires to control free speech. Yet, you like the masses of Germany under Hitler, can’t see the truth. You really do need to look at some of the other 10% of the Media. You’re getting 100% Propaganda 100% of the time, and you are blind because of it…
I won’t begrudge another person’s opinion. We are the aggregate of our influences and exposures.
Ask yourself: Do I spend time gathering information from both liberal and conservative sources?
If the answer is no, how do you know that you are not a sucker? How can you be certain the information you accept as fact is nothing more than propaganda?
I can look back over my lifetime and see the outcomes of leadership in my community and conclude that I was misled and misinformed. I can review legislation and the votes of those that we elected and determine when I was lied to. I can review statistics and trends to determine the effect of the policies put in place by Congress.
BUT I can’t for the life of me believe that I would buy a Georgia Bulldog a drink. @Tim Rupert
The Democratic Party effectively started the Civil War, moron.
Volman you are a disgrace. Just like the rest of the left wing socialist idiots. I hope you never have to experience a socialist government that you idiots want so bad, in the YS. Maybe you should visit Venezuela about now to get a little taste. Heck maybe you should move there. You can get far away from all the white supremacists and bigots you seem to know so much about. By the way tell me what % of the US population is considered white supremacist. And do you think racism only exists in white republicans. Come on you wanker, take the blinders off.
Hey Zynka will you take Volman as a fellow fan. He’s embarrassing us other Vols.
Yeah, all the old bigots hate being called out.
And Kirby, if you ain’t Smart enough to know, the political parties in this country are completely flipped in ideological alignment since Reconstruction in the US.
But you’re so Smart! Sure you knew that.
I never thought I would read such censorship garbage from a “writer”. I have a minor in history and have watched many documentaries. I still haven’t figured out how a small minority could get such a large majority to commit such crimes. Well since HONESTY is rewarded with a loss of job I should say Conner is the greatest writer of all time. Most people frown on lies.
darthA, It was easy. Take over the media. Control the narrative. Intimidate those who resist with violence. Promise prosperity that’s provided by the government.
When the Government controls the Media, and the education system, that’s how you brainwash the people. Do that, and you can convince many to believe almost anything.
That’s how Hitler did it. Who controls the school system and 90% of the education system in today’s America. Answer that and you have the answer to the greatest threat against America today…
I forgot one other necessary ingredient. Gun-Control. Hitler made it a crime for anyone who opposed him to own a gun.
I think everyone is triggered way too easily, if the man had asked to eat with Ghengis Khan or even Leopoldo II no one cares…..a big issue with the world today is how everyone overreacts when an answer to question isn’t what they think it should be…and to those comparing President Trump to Hitler..shame on you, can’t decide if you really believe that or are trying to unseat the top trolls on this site, either way quit watching mainstream news and do your own fact finding to be informed
Thank you.
Trump is a disgusting, draft dodging coward.
Can’t understand you’re love of the maggot.
Idiotic comment, yes. Ironically, most of the liberals across America wear freaking Che Guevara t-shirts. Yet I’m sure SDS wouldn’t be writing an article lambasting anyone who purportedly admired Che, a murderer who used fear and force to silence his opposition.