Report: Michigan State investigation finds Mel Tucker sexually harassed accuser
Michigan State’s investigation into former football coach Mel Tucker found he violated the university’s sexual harassment policy, according to USA Today’s Kenny Jacoby. Tucker was accused of sexually harassing prominent advocate Brenda Tracy and the university fired him last month after previously announcing a suspension.
The university issued a 73-page report on Wednesday in which a hearing officer from the university found Tucker exploited and sexually harassed Tracy during an April 2022 phone call. During the call, which took place eight months after Tucker brought Tracy in as a guest speaker, he made sexual comments and masturbated without her consent. In addition, the report found Tucker made “unwanted sexual advances” toward Tracy months before the call, according to USA Today.
“In sum, considering all available evidence, the Resolution Officer finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, that there is sufficient evidence to conclude that Respondent subjected Claimant to unwelcome conduct based on sex when he FaceTime video called Claimant without a shirt on; when he attempted to meet up with Claimant alone following the Spring Game; and when he non-consensually masturbated and used graphic, sexual language on a phone call with Claimant,” the report said, via USA Today.
More on the Mel Tucker investigation, ramifications of firing from Michigan State
Throughout the process, Tucker has maintained he and Tracy had a consensual relationship. She was recently granted a restraining order against him. Recently, Tucker’s team said it had “new evidence” regarding the case, and court documents showed the source was Jennifer Ruiz, a cousin of Tracy’s former assistant, Ahlan Alvarado. Alvarado passed away in a June car accident.
“[Ruiz] claimed in a sworn affidavit that Alvarado had told her Tracy and Tucker had been in a relationship and that the phone call was consensual – contradicting Alvarado’s account to the investigator,” Jacoby wrote. “Ruiz, however, has never spoken to the university’s investigator or opened herself to questioning to determine if her account is credible. Until she does, her account holds no evidentiary value, Title IX attorney Patrick Mathis told USA TODAY.”
Michigan State initially suspended Tucker Sept. 10 after USA Today reported the accusations against him. The university then shared its intention to fire him for cause Sept. 18, giving him one week to respond to the decision. Ultimately, Michigan State went through with the move, and Tucker is threatening legal action as a result.
Prior to the 2022 season, Tucker received a lucrative contract extension from Michigan State and still has about $80 million remaining on the deal. By firing him for cause, the school doesn’t have to pay him that full sum. However, if Tucker files a lawsuit, he could get at least some of that money back.