MSU coach Mel Tucker responds to sexual harassment allegations

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State University head football coach Mel Tucker has released a response to his suspension and sexual harassment allegations.

Read: Michigan State football: Mel Tucker suspended, Barnett acting coach, Dantonio returns

MSU athletic director Allan Haller announced during a 5 p.m. Sunday news conference that Tucker has been suspended without pay after a USA TODAY report detailed allegations of sexual harassment brought forward by Brenda Tracy, a rape survivor and prominent advocate against sexual violence.

Tracy filed a Title IX complaint against Tucker for sexual harassment that includes very graphic and serious allegations.

Tucker argues that there is no Title IX investigation. He released a 900+ word response Monday, Sept. 11, in which he called the allegations “completely false.” He didn’t hold back as he blasted all aspects of the situation.

He called the investigation “devoid of any semblance of fairness,” and that his upcoming hearing would be “so flawed that there is no other opportunity for the truth to come out.”

Tucker said he helped bring Tracy to campus in the summer of 2021 because he supports her mission of sexual misconduct prevention. He said that their mutual friendship grew into an intimate relationship that lasted for months and was consensual between the two.

Ms. Tracy’s attorney told us from the very beginning that I should not lose my job over her allegations, but that it would take a lot of money to make it go away. Her twisting of our personal relationship months after it concluded is designed to revive her career and destroy my life, precipitated by her greed. One of the most absurd allegations by Ms. Tracy is that if our relationship and associated facts went public, only she would be harmed, not me. As the world can see, quite the opposite is true.

Excerpt from Mel Tucker’s response

He claims he gave Tracy gifts that she accepted from him.

Tracy said she froze as she listened to Tucker perform a sex act over the phone and engaged in graphic sexual talk with her. She said it was unwanted. Tucker claims she initiated the discussion after sending him a provocative photo of them together. He added that she did not object or hang up the phone during the 36-minute phone call.

Mel Tucker’s full response can be read below.

Michigan State University releases a statement

Michigan State University interim president Teresa K. Woodruff released a statement shortly after Tucker’s Monday. In her statement, she reiterated the college was committed to “advancing a culture of support and acting with integrity, safety and respect for all.”

Woodruff said the school holds its educators to high standards and when allegations are made, MSU handles the matter in a way to ensure “the rights and privacy of affected individuals.”

Tracy issued a response Monday (Sept. 11) on Twitter, calling what Tucker’s statement as just more of the same DARVO.

Upon being contacted by the claimant regarding Mel Tucker, MSU’s Office for Civil Rights immediately commenced a review and subsequent investigation, per university protocol, using a third-party investigator. Vice President and Director of Athletics Alan Haller, members of the Board of Trustees and I were made aware in late December that there was a complaint. Upon the external investigator concluding their evidence gathering, their report was submitted to the parties of the case on July 25. In these cases, the investigator does not make findings or determinations, but instead refers the matter to a third-party resolution officer to hold a hearing. That formal hearing will occur on Oct. 5 and 6 – dates mutually agreed upon by the claimant, respondent and third-party resolution officer. This case is ongoing and will not conclude until there is a hearing decision and any potential appeals are completed.

Excerpt from MSU's response

You can read Woodruff’s full statement here.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a graduate of MSU, released the following statement:

As a survivor, I’m shocked. As a Spartan, I’m disappointed. As Governor, I want answers.

I know the pain that so many feel when allegations like this come to light because I live it too. It’s retraumatizing. MSU holds a special place in so many of our hearts -- which is what makes this hurt more.

We deserve to know when the university knew about these allegations and why they made the decisions they did. We need to ensure that one of our state’s flagship universities, one that carries so much weight around the world, is learning from the past and not recreating it.

Spartans, survivors, and Michiganders -- we deserve better.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

An attorney who specializes in Title IX said MSU stuck to the due process, met deadlines for its investigation and would know the details of what was found and what both Tucker and the complainant were saying along the way.

MSU said the investigation was completed in late July. Students want to know why they’re hearing about this only now.

“It has been going on, it’s eerie in a way,” said MSU senior Joel Blanding. “What other things are going on without us knowing?”

The attorney Local 4 spoke with said the person who would know the details would be Tucker’s boss, MSU Athletic Director Alan Haller, who did not respond for comment.

On Sunday, Sept. 10, Haller said he was in charge of the decisions made when it came to the allegations and Tucker.

It was likely Haller’s call to keep Tucker in place. [name] said MSU was legally obligated to do a safety and risk assessment of Tucker and make the call to keep him in place or remove him.

PR and crisis expert Matt Friedman said MSU should have laid out exactly what they were doing with Tucker’s case.

“They did not explain any of that,” Friedman said. “So many are left confused.”

A hearing for Tucker is scheduled for October.

“This has been a tough couple days for the MSU community and MSU supporters across the state. While MSU acted yesterday, recent experience on sexual assault and sexual harassment make it understandable that Spartans are deeply pained, frustrated, and left asking questions. What’s clear is that the coach’s admitted behavior was unacceptable and has thrown the institution into yet another maelstrom on these issues. As MSU’s representative and a fan, it’s hard to watch. We all want to get past the Nassar chapter of MSU’s history, but we unfortunately still have more work to do to get to a community free of harassment and violence.”

U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin