REPORT: Mel Tucker Suspended As Michigan State's Head Coach
**This story has been updated to reflect the most recent information**
After news broke earlier that Mel Tucker was under investigation for sexual misconduct, Michigan State University will reportedly wait until Title IX investigation is completed to make a determination on Tucker's future at Michigan State. College Football insider Brett McMurphy had originally reported that Tucker had been fired by the University, but seemed to backtrack on that report shortly after.
Even with the update, it does appear that things are trending toward Tucker being dismissed at some point once the Title IX investigation is complete. As McMurphy notes, MSU will claim dismissal with/cause to get out of paying Tuckers massive $70-million buyout.
The move comes as news broke that Tucker is under investigation for allegations of sexual harassment, according to a report published by USA Today.
In a bizarre twist, the complaint was filed by Brenda Tracy, a public speaker who has devoted her life to advocating for sexual assault survivors. Tracy claims that she was subject to several instances of sexual harassment by Mel Tucker in April 2022 including sending her gifts, asking if she would date him if he wasn't married, and masturbating during one of their phone calls without her consent.
The sexual harassment complaint was filed in December 2022 according to the report from USA Today. In March of that same year, Tucker wrote a letter to the investigator and suggested that the relationship with Tracy was mutually consensual. Tucker admitted to a specific allegation of masturbating during a phone call with Tracy, but claimed that it was part of consensual phone sex.
"Ms. Tracy's distortion of our mutually consensual and intimate relationship into allegations of sexual exploitation has really affected me," Tucker wrote in the March 2022 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."
Tracy, who operates a nonprofit organization called 'Set The Expectation', is a survivor of a sexual assault that occurred back in the late 90's. As part of her mission, Tracy has visited over 100 college campuses in recent years to talk with players and coaches about the issue of sexual misconduct.
We'll have more on this story as it develops.
