Update: Conflicting Reports On Michigan State Coach Mel Tucker Being Fired After Sexual Harassment Allegations

A previous version on this story reported that Michigan State had fired head football coach Mel Tucker according to a report. This is following sexual harassment allegations first noted on Saturday night

In an update, Brett McMurphy is reporting that Tucker is now being suspended, along with Chris Solari.

The decision comes after USA Today reported that Mel Tucker was accused of sexual harassment by Brenda Tracy, who is a prominent speaker on sexual violence. Michigan State hired outside counsel to conduct a Title IX investigation into the matter. That investigation was completed in July, but the school had planned a hearing for Oct. 5, during the Spartans bye-week.

Brett McMurphy reported the news. Secondary coach Harlon Barnett is expected to be the interim head coach , while the Spartans are bringing back Mark Dantonio in yet to be specified role within program.

Mel Tucker's Contract At Michigan State

In regards to Tucker's contract, he was due to paid $95 million over ten years, after signing an extension in 2021. When hired in East Lansing, Mel Tucker's contract was with $5.5 million per year, until that lucrative extension after his first season.

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.”

Tucker would not receive any of his buyout if fired for cause.

Sexual Harassment Allegations Against Mel Tucker

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.”

Head coach Mel Tucker of the Michigan State Spartans looks on before the game against the Indiana Hoosiers. (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images)

Mel 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.”

It's clear that the university does not have faith in Mel Tucker right now, and did not want him holding any type of press conferences at this time.

Now, the football team will prepare for #9 Washington with a massive cloud hanging over the program. Unfortunately, Michigan State has nobody to blame but itself for waiting this long to discuss the matter.

Correction: Mel Tucker has not been officially fired as a previous version of this story stated.