Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker suspended without pay amid sexual harassment investigation

Content warning: This story addresses allegations of sexual harassment and may be difficult to read and emotionally upsetting.

Editor’s note 9/27: Michigan State fired Mel Tucker for cause, saying he brought ‘public disrespect’ upon university

Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker has been suspended without pay after a university investigation into sexual harassment allegations became public Saturday night. He signed a 10-year, $95 million contract through the 2031 season in Nov. 2021, making him one of college football’s highest-paid coaches.

According to USA Today, Brenda Tracy — a prominent rape survivor and activist — accused Tucker of making sexual comments and masturbating while on a phone call with her after the two had developed a professional relationship because of her advocacy work. Tracy filed a complaint against Tucker with the school’s Title IX office in December, and MSU hired an outside Title IX attorney to investigate. The attorney submitted her report on July 25, according to MSU athletic director Alan Haller, and Tucker is set for a hearing to determine whether he violated school policy. That hearing is set for Oct. 5 and 6 — when the football team has a bye week.

Haller said publicly that he learned of the investigation in late December.

When asked by The Athletic whether interim president Teresa Woodruff and the board of trustees were notified at this time, an MSU spokesperson confirmed they were notified of a complaint but no other details were provided to them. The spokesperson said Haller “would have been given some additional information” to help determine what interim measures would need to be put in place.

Neither Haller, Woodruff nor the board knew the full details of the investigation until USA Today’s story came out, the spokesperson said.

When asked about the timing of Tucker’s suspension, Haller said “interim measures were in place, and those interim measures have been updated.” Haller and Woodruff divulged little and answered only three questions in a Sunday news conference.

“Initially, there was (to be) no contact with the complainant and then also increased oversight from me of the program but then also the coach,” Haller said Sunday. “So, it’s an ongoing process, and we update those interim measures as we receive information.”

Haller added that the university’s objective is to conduct a thorough investigation and allow the process to play out.

“This includes protecting the confidentiality of the claimant and putting in place interim measures. The university’s formal conclusion of the investigation will occur once the hearing and final decision processes are complete,” Haller said.

Tracy agreed to be identified by USA Today and shared 1,200 pages of case documents with the publication.

According to USA Today, Tucker “acknowledged masturbating on the call but said Tracy grossly mischaracterized the episode” in his statements to the investigator. Tucker said they had consensual “phone sex.”

Tucker and Tracy initially met the first time she visited MSU to speak to athletes in August 2021, per USA Today. Tracy, who survived a gang rape by college football players in 1998, visits campuses to raise awareness about sexual assault through an activism platform named Set the Expectation. Michigan State named Tracy honorary captain for a spring game in 2022.

We are excited to welcome @brendatracy24 back to campus as our honorary captain for Saturday’s spring game! #SetTheExpectation @STEnonprofit pic.twitter.com/VjLbhM46Zq

— Michigan State Football (@MSU_Football) April 13, 2022

“Our nonprofit knows, with unblinking clarity, the immense challenge of coming forward as a survivor of sexual misconduct or violence,” Set the Expectation said in a statement Monday. “The news surrounding our founder, Brenda Tracy, highlights how necessary this work continues to be in our society. … If nothing else, the recent news reminds us that the work to eradicate sexual violence must continue if we ever hope to see progress.

“We continue to hope and we will continue to work. Please join us in standing alongside Brenda Tracy.”

Michigan State is known for its missteps in handling sexual abuse accusations against Larry Nassar, the disgraced former USA Gymnastics and campus physician. Nassar sexually abused over 300 female gymnasts; he pleaded guilty in 2018 to seven counts of criminal sexual conduct and was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison. Then-school president Lou Anna K. Simon resigned amid the scandal, but criminal charges against Simon were dismissed. Athletic director Mark Hollis also resigned during that period. It was never alleged Hollis had any knowledge of Nassar, but an ESPN report in 2018 described a pattern of sexual assault issues within MSU athletics.

Woodruff defended the university during the Sunday news conference. She spoke of the processes of “the MSU of today” while acknowledging that Sunday’s “news might sound like the MSU of old.”

“It was not. It was not because an independent, unbiased investigation is and continues to be conducted,” Woodruff said, later adding, “It is not the MSU of old because we maintained the confidence of the claimant and the respondent while respecting and valuing the claimant’s and respondent’s rights to share their story. It is not because of the further action we take today. The action AD Haller took comes with the full weight of my support. As he shared, these new developments before the formal hearing can impact the case and the community. This step, to place Mel Tucker on an unpaid leave, is equally necessary and appropriate for today’s circumstances.”

Tucker, 51, was hired away from Colorado in February 2020. His fully guaranteed contract extension was signed amid an 11-2 run in his second season and goes through the 2031 season unless Tucker is fired for specific causes: materially breaching his contract, being convicted of a crime, and by engaging “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, 19-14 as head coach, has about $80 million remaining on his contract. Two donors, including now-Phoenix Suns and Mercury owner Mat Ishbia, are paying $24 million of the contract; the school is paying $71 million.

Defensive backs coach Harlon Barnett will lead the Spartans in Tucker’s absence. Former coach Mark Dantonio will serve as an associate coach. The Spartans are 2-0 this season.

(Photo: Robert Goddin / USA Today)