EAST LANSING, Mich. (WXYZ) — Michigan State University fans are still shocked over allegations against head football coach Mel Tucker that claim he sexually harassed a rape survivor who was hired by the school to educate athletes against sexual assault. He admits to touching himself during a phone call with her, saying it was consensual.
"I was very disappointed,” MSU fan Maseo Rhodes said. "He said it's all fabricated, but we’ll just have to see when the facts come up.”
Rhodes is referring to a letter released Monday by Tucker, which calls the investigation a "sham." Tucker says the allegations fall outside Title IX or any university policy, but the school does have a separate "Relationship Violence and Sexual Misconduct" policy, and it appears this incident could violate that policy.
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“Universities are allowed to do that. They're not limited to the laws that exist," attorney Deborah Gordon said. "They're allowed to create their own policies about conduct and behavior about employees and students.”
Gordon specializes in Title IX and sexual harassment cases, having represented parties on both sides. She pushes back on Tucker’s accusation that his hearing is flawed.
“Telling your story and being able to question your accuser, even if it's not under oath, that's your due process. You may want more, but the courts have said that’s the minimal amount of due process," Gordon said.
In a letter Monday, President Teresa Woodruff said university leadership was unaware that Tucker admitted to certain behaviors until this weekend. Gordon questions how, and says there’s no legal requirement that would require those details to be kept under wraps.
“This is the highest-paid guy at the university with huge responsibility and you just learned this? No, there’s something wrong there,” Gordon said.
In his letter, Tuckers says in part "...it was an entirely mutual, private event between two adults living at opposite ends of the country. She initiated the discussion that night, sent me a provocative picture of the two of us together, suggested what she may look like without clothes, and never once during the 36 minutes did she object in any manner, much less hang up the phone." He also said about the woman behind the complaint, "Her twisting of our personal relationship months after it concluded is designed to revive her career and destroy my life, precipitated by her greed."
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That woman behind the complaint, Brenda Tracy, tweeted her own statement, saying “This is just more of the same DARVO, deflection, victim blaming and lies that I’ve been dealing with now for months. Coach Tucker has been delaying and trying to stop the investigative process since the beginning.”
Gordon says at the end of the day, Tucker could still be fired based on a clause in his contract.
“His argument would be 'they’re throwing me out for moral turpitude. This isn't moral turpitude,'" Gordon said. "I think that’s a tough argument for him because what he has done is embarrass the university.”
Fans mostly agree that Tucker crossed the line and action needs to be taken.
“At the end of the day, it's a black mark on MSU regardless," Rhodes said. "So it’s definitely going to be some disciplinary action, whether that be a suspension or him being terminated I don't know, but they're definitely going to have to do something.”
