Mel Tucker Repeatedly Made False Statements During Sexual Assault Investigation: Report

Amid accusations of sexual harassment, Mel Tucker has vehemently denied wrongdoing. But according to a recent report from USA TODAY, the embattled football coach has not been entirely truthful during the investigation.

Michigan State recently announced it would fire Tucker for cause over allegations of sexual assault from Brenda Tracy, an activist who speaks to schools about sexual violence. According to a report she filed with the MSU Title IX office in December, "Tucker made sexual comments about her and masturbated" while the pair were on a phone call together.

The 51-year-old coach acknowledged masturbating on the call — contending the he had "consensual phone sex" with Tracy. He also insisted he made the call from his home in Michigan.

According to the recent report, though, the latter is untrue. When he made the call on April 28, 2022, Tucker was in Florida for a school-sponsored event to promote its migrant student services program. Before heading back to his hotel room that night, he had met with community members and alumni on behalf of Michigan State.

"It's just one example of Tucker failing to keep his story straight at the most consequential moment of his career," USA TODAY reported.

Rebecca Leitman Veidlinger (the investigator) and USA Today both obtained documents and witness statements that discredit key aspects of Tucker's version of events — including his location during the call and the date it occurred.

The report also claims he lied about canceling a scheduled training presentation between Tracy and the team.

Report Claims Mel Tucker Misled Investigators

Michigan State previously suspended Tucker without pay while the school completed its investigation into the allegations. Just 18 days later, MSU announced it had started the process to fire him with cause.

While Tucker insists he and Tracy had a consensual relationship, she claims otherwise. Tracy said Tucker's romantic interest in her was completely one-sided and that she had tried to set boundaries multiple times during their yearlong business partnership.

But without eyewitness accounts or recordings, it's a classic he said-she said. And Elizabeth Abdnour, a Lansing-based attorney and former Michigan State Title IX investigator, said these types of sexual harassment cases usually boil down to whose account is more credible.

"It's very, very unusual that you would have some outside piece of evidence that would give you a clear decision," Abdnour said. "Very often you're weighing credibility based on little bits and pieces of information."

So if Tucker really was lying to investigators, a perceived lack of credibility will hurt his case.

"I believe a fact finder could assess these pieces of evidence about credibility and make a determination that Brenda is more credible than Mel," Abdnour continued. "In my experience, a clear sign of a lack of credibility is generally taken very seriously."

(Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images)

Very little written communication between the two exists. Tucker and Tracy both told the investigator they had deleted their texts with each other in the months after the April 2022 phone call.

Tucker has until Sept. 26 to make a case for keeping his job. A formal hearing to determine whether Tucker violated school policies against sexual harassment and exploitation will take place Oct. 5 and 6.