EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State head football coach Mel Tucker has been suspended without pay until further notice according to MSU athletic director Alan Haller.
Defensive coordinator Harlon Barnett will be the acting head coach. Former longtime Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio will be an associate head coach.
The decision comes after news of a sexual harassment investigation came to light early Sunday morning involving Tucker and Brenda Tracy, who is a rape survivor who works to educate athletes about sexual assault and harassment.
Tracy created a professional relationship with Tucker over an eight month time period where she was invited to campus three times. Twice to speak to his team and staff and the third time was to be recognized as an honorary captain at the Spartans spring football game in 2022.
USA Today reports that a Title IX investigation is happening into a phone call on April 28, 2022, where Tracy alleges Tucker made sexual comments about her and then masturbated on the phone without her consent.
“The idea that someone could know me and say they understand my trauma but then re-inflict that trauma on me is so disgusting to me, it’s hard for me to even wrap my mind around it,” Tracy said to USA Today. “It’s like he sought me out just to betray me.”
In a statement to the Title IX investigator, obtained by USA Today, Tucker said he did masturbate on the call but then said he and Tracy had consensual "phone sex."
According to USA Today, Tucker wrote in a letter to the Title IX investigator, "“Ms. Tracy’s distortion of our mutually consensual and intimate relationship into allegations of sexual exploitation has really affected me. I am not proud of my judgment and I am having difficulty forgiving myself for getting into this situation, but I did not engage in misconduct by any definition.”
Tucker released a statement Monday saying, "Brenda tracy's allegations of harassment are completely false."
Throughout the rest of the statement, Tucker goes on to explain the nature of his relationship with Ms. Tracy saying they engaged in dozens of calls throughout fall 2021 and winter 2022.
He says Tracy initiated many of the calls and that many occurred late at night.
He says, "We both talked about all sorts of intimate, private matters."
Tucker also acknowledged that when he began his friendship with Tracy, he says he and his wife "had been estranged for a long time."
According to the USA TODAY report, Tracy alleges that Tucker masturbated during a phone call without her consent.
Tucker confirms that phone call did happen but says, "It was an entirely mutual, private event between two adults."
He adds, "Never once during the 36 minutes did she object in any manner, much less hang up the phone."
Tucker also called the hearing scheduled for Oct. 5 and Oct. 6 a "sham" and "flawed."
Tucker further explains that Tracy's attorney told him that he should not lose his job over her allegations but "that it would take a lot of money to make it go away."
In closing, Tucker says, "I have been ripped from the team that I love, without any meaningful opportunity to tell my side of the story other than this press release. I am incredibly proud of the outstanding group of men on the team and my heart aches to be sidelined. I ask everyone to consider carefully the undisputed facts outlined and reserve judgment until the full truth comes out."
Read Tucker's full statement below:
MT Press Release 9-11-23 by WXMI on Scribd
In addition to Tucker's statement, we also received another statement from Interim President Teresa Woodruff reiterating many of her remarks from Sunday's press conference.
Woodruff insists that the university is "conducting a fair, thorough and unbiased investigation and hearing" despite Tucker's allegations that the hearing is a "sham."
In the interim, the university says that former head football coach Mark Dantonio will rejoin the coaching staff and current defensive coordinate Harlon Barnett will take over for tucker as head coach.
Read Woodruff's full statement on MSU's website.
