Former Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker sues university over his firing

Former Michigan State University head football coach Mel Tucker is suing the university and school leaders, alleging that they wrongfully fired him last year and violated his constitutional rights after he was accused of sexual harassment.

The federal lawsuit filed Wednesday in Michigan accuses school officials of undertaking an “improper, sham investigation” of allegations that Tucker sexually harassed and exploited rape survivor and activist Brenda Tracy.

The suit, which seeks unspecified damages, alleges that Michigan State officials violated his rights to due process and equal protection as well as his employment agreement with the school.

The complaint also contends that interim president Teresa Woodruff and athletic director Alan Haller made “false and defamatory” public statements against Tucker, “further destroying Plaintiff’s reputation, his professional standing, and his livelihood.”

In addition, the suit contends school leaders “manipulated the process to create a pretextual and false basis to terminate Plaintiff’s employment.”

“By improperly weaponizing the University’s investigative procedures against Plaintiff, the Defendants have caused, and continue to cause, Plaintiff to experience severe emotional harm and suffering, and have caused hundreds of millions in damages,” the suit states.

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At the time of his firing, Tucker was in the third year of a $95 million, 10-year contract. He was due to earn about $80 million remaining on the deal.

The lawsuit names as defendants the university, Woodruff, Haller, the school’s eight trustees and its general counsel, Brian Quinn.

University spokesperson Emily Gerkin Guerrant said via email Thursday that “the university does not have a comment at this time” and said it had not been formally served with the suit as of Thursday morning.

Tracy, who is known for educating college athletes about sexual violence, became friends with Tucker over her advocacy work. Michigan State paid her $10,000 to share with the football team her story about being gang-raped in 1998. Tucker’s lawsuit states that Tracy spoke to Michigan State’s football team on Aug. 14, 2021.

Tucker and Tracy’s relationship took a turn in April 2022. According to USA Today, Tucker masturbated during a phone call with her. Tracy filed a complaint with the school in December 2022, saying Tucker had sexually harassed her during the phone call. Months later, she filed a complaint with the school’s Office for Civil Rights and Title IX Education. Tucker told investigators that he and Tracy had consensual phone sex.

Her allegations against Tucker were made public by USA Today on Sept. 10, 2023, in an story that mentioned the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal, the suit alleges. Nassar was a Michigan State sports doctor as well as a doctor at Indianapolis-based USA Gymnastics. He is serving decades in prison for assaulting female athletes, including medal-winning Olympic gymnasts, under the guise of treatment.

Tucker’s suit contends that school officials deprived him “of his right to a confidential and fair investigative process” and that they “cared nothing about the damage being inflicted” on him.

“Instead, the Defendants were alarmed that that the USA Today articles once again made MSU’s history of failing to properly deal with sexual abuse allegations the subject of national media attention,” it states.

Tucker was suspended in September and Michigan State fired him later that month, saying he had subjected the institution to ridicule, breaching his contract and moral turpitude.

A resolution officer concluded in October that Tucker engaged in behavior that violated the school’s Relationship Violence and Sexual Misconduct and Title IX Policy by sexually harassing and sexually exploiting Tracy.

In January, the school denied Tucker’s appeal of these findings. An attorney hired by the school as an equity review officer said Tucker had failed to prove error or bias.