Michigan State to fire football coach Mel Tucker amid sexual harassment investigation

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State University plans to fire head football coach Mel Tucker a week after an investigation into a sexual harassment complaint from a prominent rape survivor was reported by USA TODAY.

Athletic Director Alan Haller said in a statement released on Monday afternoon that the school has notified Tucker of its intent to terminate his contract for cause.

"I, with the support of administration and board, have provided Mel Tucker with written notice of intent to terminate his contract for cause," Haller wrote in the statement. "This notification process is required as part of his existing contract. 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.

“This action does not conclude the ongoing Office for Civil Rights case; that rigorous process will continue.”

The university is investigating a complaint filed in December by Brenda Tracy, a national advocate for sexual assault survivors. It is scheduled for a hearing on Oct. 5 and 6. In her complaint, she said that Tucker made sexual comments and masturbated without her consent during a phone call in April 2022.

Although Tucker has denied sexually harassing Tracy, he acknowledged masturbating on the phone in his interview with the outside investigator hired by the school, saying it was consensual "phone sex." He said he and Tracy had an intimate relationship, which Tracy denies.

On Monday, Michigan State said the conduct he has already admitted to is sufficient to fire him. In his version of events, Tucker had sexual relations with a vendor whom he had hired to provide sexual misconduct training to his team and who had an ongoing business relationship with the university.

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Haller notified Tucker of the university's intentions, required as part of his contract, in a letter dated Monday.

"It is decidedly unprofessional and unethical to flirt, make sexual comments, and masturbate while on the phone with a University vendor," the letter said. "The unprofessional and unethical behavior is particularly egregious given that the Vendor at issue was contracted by the University for the sole purpose of educating student-athletes on, and preventing instances of, inappropriate sexual misconduct."

Dan Olsen, a spokesperson for the university, declined to comment further. A message was left seeking comment from Jennifer Belveal, Tucker's attorney. Tracy declined to comment for this story.

Tucker will now have to make his case to Haller as to why he should be allowed to keep his job and the roughly $80 million left on the 10-year contract he signed in November 2021. He is currently suspended without pay.

What are the grounds for termination?

The grounds for termination stated in the letter include materially breaching his contract, conduct of moral turpitude and conduct that causes "public disrespect, contempt, or ridicule upon the University."

Haller knew that Tracy was the complainant shortly after she filed the complaint in December, the university spokesman confirmed. But Olsen said Haller did not know the details of the allegations until USA TODAY's investigation published last Sunday because of campus protocols designed to prevent potential tampering by university administrators.

Haller said that even if the ongoing investigation doesn't find that he committed sexual harassment, Tucker has breached his obligation to conduct himself professionally and ethically.

"At this point, the University has amassed a body of undisputed evidence of misconduct that warrants termination for cause," Haller wrote.

Tucker's admitted conduct, according to the letter, includes: "Commenting to the Vendor about her looks, body, and body parts, specifically her 'ass'; Making flirtatious comments to the Vendor in conversations that you state 'happened often'; Masturbating and making sexually explicit comments about yourself and the Vendor while on the phone with the Vendor, which you describe as 'phone sex' and 'a late-night intimate conversation.'"

Additionally, Haller wrote to Tucker that the university's determination that his conduct brought public disrespect on the school cannot be disputed. He specifically cited the USA TODAY story, which prompted widespread news coverage of Tucker's conduct.

"University fans and alumni have also expressed their negative views of the University," Haller wrote, "further evidencing that your behavior has resulted in the University being subject to public disrespect, contempt, and ridicule."

Tracy has said she did not intend to make her case public before an October hearing at MSU. In a statement, her attorney said an outside source leaked Tracy's identity, leading her to agree to go public in USA TODAY's investigative report.

On Monday, the university said it had hired the law firm Jones Day to investigate alleged breaches of confidential information in the sexual harassment investigation.

That inquiry will look into whether Tracy's identity or other confidential information was improperly shared by "MSU officials and others," according to a university statement.

How did Tucker and Tracy first meet?

Tucker and Tracy met when he hired her to speak to his team about sexual violence prevention in August 2021. They stayed in touch after, and Tucker invited her to campus two more times over the next year to provide additional education programming and make her honorary captain at the team's 2022 spring football game.

During that year, they spoke frequently by phone and text. Initially, Tracy said she believed Tucker genuinely supported her and her cause of rooting out the culture of sexual misconduct in sports. But Tracy said it became clear after a few weeks that Tucker was less interested in her work than in her.

He sent her photos of herself that she had posted on her Instagram and complimented her looks, she said. He sent her gifts, including a pair of Jordan sneakers and $200 on Venmo. He once called her on FaceTime shirtless. On another call, he asked her if she would date him if he wasn't married and wasn't a coach, she said.

Tracy said she had no interest in Tucker romantically or in dating anyone she worked with, and that she made that clear to him on multiple occasions. But Tucker continued pursuing her, she said, calling her four times after the spring game and asking her to meet him alone. She said no.

Twelve days later came the call that became the subject of her formal complaint, which Tracy said started out normal. After she sent Tucker a photo of them from their recent visit, Tracy said Tucker commented on her buttocks and called himself an "ass man." She said his voice became weirder and deeper as he continued making sexual comments, and he told her he was touching himself.

Tracy and Tucker didn't speak again for three months, until Tucker canceled her July 2022 visit – for which she had been hired to provide additional education programming to the team – three days before it was supposed to occur. Tracy said Tucker then threatened to destroy her career and reputation if she spoke out about his conduct. Ultimately she reported him to the school in December.

The hearing was initially scheduled for late August, but Tucker and his attorney got it pushed back six weeks, to the team's bye week. At the hearing in early October, another outside attorney hired by the university is to decide whether Tucker violated university policy. An official sanction or punishment could then follow that determination.

Contact Lansing State Journal reporter Matt Mencarini by email at [email protected]. Follow him on X @MattMencarini. 

Kenny Jacoby is an investigative reporter for USA TODAY covering sexual harassment and violence and Title IX. Contact him by email at [email protected] or follow him on X @kennyjacoby.