Michigan State tells football coach Mel Tucker it will fire him for misconduct with rape survivor
Michigan State coach Mel Tucker watches during an NCAA college football scrimmage, Saturday, April 15, 2023, in East Lansing, Mich. Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller has informed suspended football coach Mel Tucker he is being fired for cause without compensation for his conduct with activist and rape survivor Brenda Tracy. “The notice provides Tucker with seven calendar days to respond and present reasons to me and the interim president as to why he should not be terminated for cause,” Haller said in a statement sent by the school on Monday, Sept. 18. Credit: AP/Al Goldis
Michigan State informed suspended football coach Mel Tucker on Monday that he will be fired without compensation for misconduct involving activist and rape survivor Brenda Tracy in a sordid case that dates back more than a year.
“The notice provides Tucker with seven calendar days to respond and present reasons to me and the interim president as to why he should not be terminated for cause,” athletic director Alan Haller said in a statement released by the school.
If Tucker does not present “sufficient reasons to dispute” multiple contract violations, the school will fire him Sept. 26, three days after the program's Big Ten opener in what was hoped to be a bounce-back year for the Spartans.
Tucker is in the third year of a $95 million, 10-year contract and if he is fired for cause, the school would not have to pay him what’s remaining on his deal. Tucker, his agent and his attorney did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Haller said the decision does not affect the ongoing investigation into Tracy's allegations of sexual harassment, which is being handled by the school's office for civil rights.
Tracy said Tucker sexually harassed her during a phone call in April 2022. Several months later, Tracy filed a complaint with the school’s Title IX office and the investigation was completed in July. A hearing is scheduled for the week of Oct. 5 to determine if Tucker violated the school’s sexual harassment and exploitation policy and a ruling could take up to 60 days.
Tracy's allegations were made public by USA Today earlier this month. The 51-year-old Tucker, who said he is estranged from his wife and has two children, said the allegations against him are “completely false.” Tucker insisted that the intimate phone call he had with Tracy was consensual and outside the scope of both Title IX and school policy.
Brenda Tracy, a sexual assault survivor and activist, waits on the Michigan Stadium field for the pregame coin toss, before an NCAA college football game between Michigan and Western Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., Sept. 8, 2018. Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker is facing a hearing next month over allegations that he sexually harassed Tracy during a phone call last year, according to USA Today. Michigan State hired an outside Title IX attorney to investigate the complaint and the investigation concluded in July, according to the report published Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023. Credit: AP/Tony Ding
The school, however, said the actions Tucker acknowledged were unprofessional and unethical. It told Tucker he is being fired for "breaches” in his contract and for engaging “in any conduct which constitutes moral turpitude or which, in the university’s sole judgement, would tend to bring public disrespect, contempt or ridicule upon the university."
Tracy is known for her work with college teams educating athletes about sexual violence. Michigan State paid her $10,000 to share her story with the football team.
The Spartans (2-1) were routed 41-7 by No. 8 Washington on Saturday in Harlon Barnett’s debut as interim coach. Michigan State hosts Maryland (3-0) on Saturday.
Tucker began his coaching career with Nick Saban as a graduate assistant for the Spartans in 1997. .He returned to the school with one of the biggest contracts in college sports after leading Colorado for one season and serving as an assistant coach at Georgia, Alabama and Ohio State.
A defaced Mel Tucker sweatshirt with a note protesting the football coach is placed on the ground outside the Michigan State University Hannah Administration Building, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023, in East Lansing, Mich. Credit: AP/Nick King
Tucker also worked in the NFL, leading the Jacksonville Jaguars as interim coach during the 2011 season.
