EAST LANSING — It’s been a year since Michigan State University suspended Mel Tucker before eventually firing him following a USA Today story that detailed a long-running sexual harassment investigation.
A new coach is in place and the football team started the season with a win, but the book can’t quite be closed on the scandal that ended Tucker’s time in East Lansing.
Here’s a look at what’s happened in the past year and what still needs a resolution.
How we got here
The USA Today story published in the early hours of Sept. 10, following MSU’s 45-14 win over Richmond, the first public report to reveal that Tucker had been under investigation by the university for nearly a year. The story also included an interview with Brenda Tracy, the woman who filed the complaint.
Tracy is a prominent national advocate for sexual assault survivors. She’s spoken to college athletes across the country, including to MSU’s football team, as part of her nonprofit Set The Expectation.
In December 2022, Tracy filed her complaint with the university and said that during a phone call the previous April, Tucker made sexual comments about her and masturbated.
Tucker has denied any wrongdoing and said that he and Tracy had an intimate and consensual relationship.
MSU Athletic Director Alan Haller suspended Tucker without pay on the day the story published, and fired him for cause on Sept. 27.
More: Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker accused of sexually harassing rape survivor
How much of Mel Tucker’s contract is guaranteed?
About two years before Haller fired Tucker, the coach signed one of the most-lucrative contract extensions in the history of college sports.
The deal was worth about $95 million guaranteed across a decade, unless MSU fired him for cause. The contract included specific language that set out the reasons such termination could happen. When Haller cited those stipulated grounds in Tucker’s termination letter, the contract had about $80 million in guaranteed salary remaining.
Tucker filed his lawsuit in federal court on July 31. He named the university, the entire Board of Trustees, Haller, General Counsel Brian Quinn and former interim President Teresa Woodruff as defendants. MSU hired its new president last winter and Woodruff remains at the university.
In April, Tucker’s wife Jo Ellyn filed for divorce in Ingham County Circuit Court and, in a court filing, accused him of pulling money, including $1.5 million to pay his legal expenses, from their joint funds without notice.
More: MSU president Teresa Woodruff: I and the board didn’t know details of Tucker complaint until Sunday
Tucker sues MSU over ‘sham investigation’
In the lawsuit, Tucker accused the school of conducting an “improper, biased, and sham investigation” designed to fire him, violating his right to due process. Tucker, a Black man, also accuses school officials of discriminating against him based on his race.
Tucker’s lawsuit against MSU is ongoing. The university could file its response — or a motion for summary judge or motion to dismiss — as soon as mid-September, although extensions for filing deadlines are common.
Last year, contract and sports law experts told the State Journal that they expected an expensive and ugly litigation with one estimate putting a possible settlement in the $10 to $15 million range.
But that’s not the only lawsuit connected to the scandal.
About a month after Tucker was fired, Tracy filed a lawsuit against him that sought to prevent him from releasing additional text messages from a phone owned by Tracy’s friend and assistant who died in a car crash. Tucker’s attorneys said the text messages confirm his claim that he and Tracy had a consensual relationship.
His attorneys argued in Ingham County Circuit Court that Tucker did not improperly obtain the phone or its contents and therefore Tracy’s lawsuit should be dismissed. In May, Judge Wanda Stokes agreed with them.
More: Experts: Ugly court fight between former coach Mel Tucker, MSU likely
Title IX investigation found Tucker violated school rules
The Title IX investigation that preceded Tucker’s firing started in December 2022 and concluded in January 2024, following his failed appeal effort.
The university hired outside attorneys to both conduct the initial investigation, which found he violated policy, and adjudicate his appeal. In the appeal, Tucker’s attorneys reiterated arguments made throughout the investigation, including that the school lacked jurisdiction to investigate his private life and that the investigator was biased against him.
His appeal was denied, with the determination that the investigator “had a reasonable basis for each of the challenged findings.”
More: Mel Tucker appeal of sexual harassment case denied, ending Michigan State investigation
MSU spent more than $1 million on leak investigations
Before any of the lawsuits found their way to court, MSU hired the law firm Jones Day to investigate whether Tracy’s identity or other confidential information related to the Title IX investigation had been improperly shared by university officials and others.
Tracy had said that she did not intend to make her case public before a hearing set for October 2023. In a statement last year, her attorney said an “outside source” leaked Tracy’s identity, leading to USA Today’s story being published.
The State Journal reported in December that the law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan was also billing MSU for work related to the leak investigation, but not to work with Jones Day. The second firm was representing Trustee Rema Vassar, who at the time was board chair.
Combined, the two law firms billed the university for about $850,000. Jones Day couldn’t find any evidence that school officials leaked Tracy’s name.
USA Today reporter Kenny Jacoby contributed to this story. Contact reporter Matt Mencarini at 517-377-1026 or [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: What happened to Mel Tucker? MSU fired coach 1 year ago
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