Michigan State Head Coach Mel Tucker Under Investigation By School For Sexual Harassment: Report

Michigan State head football coach Mel Tucker has been the subject of a sexual harassment investigation that is currently ongoing, according to a new report.

The report states that the investigation into Mel Tucker has been ongoing now for several months, with ESPN filing a FOIA with the school that was denied. In the report, it does not mention the nature of the investigation or any details of the ongoing inquiry.

USA Today Identifies Accuser In Title IX Investigation

According to a report from USA Today, the person accusing Tucker of sexual harassment is Brenda Tracy, who speaks to schools about sexual violence. Over the course of her relationship with Michigan State, Mel Tucker invited Tracy to campus three different times over an eight month period.

But, during a phone call on April 28, 2022, this relationship changed. According to a report she filed with the Michigan State Title IX office in December, 'Tucker made sexual comments about her and masturbated' while the pair were on a phone call together. Over the course of the investigation, Mel Tucker 'acknowledged masturbating on the call but said Tracy grossly mischaracterize the episode', according to the report. Mel Tucker claims that it was consensual “phone sex.”

Tucker gave a statement to the school during the investigation, saying he did not engage in any misconduct.

“Ms. Tracy’s distortion of our mutually consensual and intimate relationship into allegations of sexual exploitation has really affected me,” Tucker wrote in a March 22 letter to the investigator. “I am not proud of my judgment and I am having difficulty forgiving myself for getting into this situation, but I did not engage in misconduct by any definition.”

Michigan State hired outside counsel to investigate the matter, which the report states was finished in July. Now, Mel Tucker is scheduled to have a formal hearing on the matter during the Spartans bye-week, on October 5th and 6th.

Potential Litigation Into Open Records Request, Michigan State

In regards to potential litigation, ESPN states that they believe the 'Freedom of Information Act' denial violates Michigan open records law. In a case like this, the company would be pursuing any documents pertaining to the investigation, which would include emails, phone records, text messages or communication that would pertain to the reported investigation.

Head coach Mel Tucker of the Michigan State Spartans reacts from the side line during the first quarter of their game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Spartan Stadium on October 15, 2022 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images)

In relation to his job on the field, Mel Tucker signed a contract extension in November of 2021 that will pay him almost $95 Million over ten years. This deal has been the talk of college football over the past two years, especially with the school giving Tucker an extension that long and lucrative.

Contract Stipulations For Mel Tucker, FOIA Denial

It should also be noted that in his contract, there is a stipulation for where Tucker could be fired for cause "if the coach engaged in any conduct which constitutes moral turpitude or, which in the university's reasonable judgment, would tend to bring public disrespect, contempt or ridicule."

This portion of the contract is common-practice for any coach in college sports. Athletic director Alan Haller did not respond to the network for comment regarding the investigation. I did find it interesting that the school cited a certain portion of Michigan law for an open record request. The report says that Michigan State cited that the fulfillment of the open record request "would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of an individual's privacy."

There are certain situations where the school can disclose some of the records, with a lot of redactions, if there are any to begin with. But, with the network filing the request on July 30, the school had a certain period of time to acknowledge the request, then decide whether to release any records.

That the network put it in their report that they are entertaining potential litigation must give them belief that Michigan State does not have the law on its side. Usually, two parties will try to work these things out privately, before the news department decides they have no other option but to take it to court.

As for Mel Tucker, his team is currently 2-0 and host #8 Washington next weekend.