Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker is ‘FIRED’ amid investigation into sexual harassment allegations
- Mel Tucker was reportedly fired amid an investigation into sexual harassment allegations
- He claims his relationship with Brenda Tracy was “consensual and intimate”
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Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker has reportedly been fired by the university following an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment by a prominent activist and rape survivor.
The investigation into Tucker, who was absent from his team’s victory Saturday and was one of the highest-paid coaches in the country, earning $9 million a year, has reportedly been ongoing for months after Brenda Tracy filed a complaint.
USA Today alleges that Tracy claims Tucker sent her gifts, made unwanted sexual comments and masturbated without her consent during a phone conversation.
The investigation into the allegations is ongoing, but Michigan State decided to take action almost immediately after the news broke, firing Tucker on Sunday afternoon.
Tracy visited the university twice in 2021 and 2022 to speak to the football team about preventing sexual misconduct, the report said, and was even named an honorary captain of the team.
Michigan State coach Mel Tucker was on the sideline as his team won on Saturday
The coach is reportedly being investigated by the school for alleged sexual harassment
She claims that after her second visit, Coach Tucker called her “several times and repeatedly asked to meet him alone” before noting that he could “slip into their hotel through a back door” so no one would see him.
Tucker, meanwhile, claims in a letter to investigators that the couple’s relationship is “consensual and intimate” and admits to masturbating on the call – but insists it was consensual phone sex.
In the letter shared by USA Today, Tucker, 51, wrote: “Ms. Tracy’s distortion of our consensual and intimate relationship through accusations of sexual exploitation really touched me.
“I don’t pride myself on my judgment and I find it hard to forgive myself for getting into this situation, but by definition I did not commit any wrongdoing.”
Tucker currently has a base salary of $5.9 million per year and signed a large contract in 2021 that includes an additional $3.1 million per year for media appearances, bringing his annual earnings to around $9 million Dollar increased.
Tracy, meanwhile, spoke to USA Today about her allegations, claiming that his actions reflect the wounds of being raped 25 years earlier by four men – two Oregon State University football players, a junior college player and a high school recruit. would have torn it open again.
Brady Tracy, a rape survivor and advocate for victims of sexual violence, has made these claims
Michigan State is 2-0 this season, but Tucker’s future as a team leader is currently unclear
“The idea that someone could know me and say they understand my trauma, but then inflict that trauma on me again, is so repulsive to me that it’s hard for me to even come to terms with,” she said. “It’s as if he sought me out just to betray me.”
It is alleged that a hearing is scheduled for October 5th and 6th to decide whether Tucker violated the university’s sexual harassment policy.
It is currently unclear whether Tucker will remain on the sidelines in the meantime after news of the investigation surfaced in the media.
The team is 2-0 after defeating Richmond 45-14 on Saturday.