Mel Tucker issues statement after Michigan State says it intends to terminate his contract
(CBS DETROIT) - Michigan State University football coach Mel Tucker responded Tuesday after the university said Monday it intends to fire him for cause following a sexual harassment allegation.
Tucker is accused of sexually harassing rape survivor and activist Brenda Tracy during an April 2022 phone call. Tucker was suspended on Sept. 10 following a USA Today report.
"I am disappointed — but not surprised — to learn that MSU intends to terminate my contract over Ms. Tracy's improper public disclosure of the entire 1,200-page investigation file regarding her baseless complaint against me," Tucker said in a statement. "Let's be clear. I don't believe MSU plans to fire me because I admitted to an entirely consensual, private relationship with another adult who gave one presentation at MSU, at my behest, over two years ago."
Read the full statement below:
Mel Tucker issues statement after Michigan State says it intends to terminate his contract by CBS Detroit on Scribd
MSU has launched an investigation into who leaked Tracy's name.
"Ms. Tracy manufactured false allegations against me," the statement reads. "MSU ignored its own policies in pursuing a biased investigation into them. MSU was supposedly going to let that flawed process play out before deciding what to do, but has now reneged on even that. While this miscarriage of justice has devastated me and my family, I find solace in knowing that the investigator concluded we had a "personal relationship." Ms. Tracy expressed consent to every facet of our relationship. I look forward to one day obtaining discovery against MSU, including the Trustees and the Athletic Department, to see what they really knew and said about this matter, as well as their motives in handling the entire investigative process."
If Tucker's contract is terminated, MSU would not have to pay him the remainder of his 10-year, $95 million contract.
