Mel Tucker of Michigan State Notified of Pending Termination 

Mel Tucker, Michigan State football coach was accused of sexually harassing a rape survivor which has ultimately led to an ongoing Title IX investigation. Brenda Tracy states that Tucker made sexual comments and masturbated without consent during a phone call.¹  Tucker was suspended without pay on Sunday September 10, 2023, less than a day after USA Today reported he has been under investigation for alleged sexual harassment. This investigation started back in July; Tucker is set for a formal hearing with the University Office of Civil Rights the week of October 5, 2023.² 

Tracy originally reported the call to the University’s (MSU) Title IX office stating, “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, it’s like he sought me out just to betray me.” Tucker’s response thus far to the allegations has been “it’s all completely false.” 

Title IX of the Education Amendment Act of 1972 states, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”³ This federal law applies to all educational institutions, both public and private, that receive federal funds.⁴ Athletic programs are tied into Title IX regulations because they are considered educational programs and activities. Coach Tucker is employed by an educational institution, which is why there is a Title IX investigation as opposed to a regular sexual assault investigation involved. 

Tracy dedicates her time to college campuses and speaking with the college students on sexual assault, as well as raising awareness through her activism platform. This stems from Tracy’s gang rape by a group of Oregon Football players back in the 1990s. Ever since, she has turned to teaching student-athletes specifically about sexual education. Tucker and Tracey met back in 2021, when they were introduced through mutual acquaintances when Tracy was on a visit to MSU to speak with athletes about sexual assault awareness. Since the initial introduction, Tucker and Tracy developed a working relationship in which Tucker ended up inviting Tracy to campus many times and even naming her honorary captain of the football team. Fast forward to April 28, 2022, when the alleged incident occurred during a phone call.  

Tucker is set to be fired from his head coaching position at MSU on September 26, 2023, as the school’s athletic director states they have enough grounds to fire him for breaching the conditions of his contract. Tucker intended to find out his future at the October 5^th hearing, but this process has now been expedited. Tucker has a provision in his contract stating if he ever were to be fired, he needs to be issued a formal written notice and given 7 days to present reasons back to the athletic director as to why he should not be fired. If Tucker does not do this, the contract will be void and he will lose roughly $80 million.⁵ Tucker was given notice on September 18, 2023, and since has responded to the notice of termination in a 25-page paper excoriating the university for what he called an unfair and bias investigation into sexual harassment allegations, and therefore there is no basis for the firing.⁶ The justification for Tucker’s firing is that he materially breached his contract by “not conducting himself professionally and ethically with integrity” and for violating the moral turpitude clause in his contract.⁷ The University also stated Tucker violated his contract by engaging in an extramarital affair with a vendor of the school. This violation came from an admission from Tucker during an investigation.  

The University said it cannot tolerate this type of behavior from an employee directly leading student athletes. The school has received a significant amount of public disrespect, contempt, and ridicule due to Tucker’s actions. This can eventually lead to a domino effect for many aspects within athletics such as recruiting for the football team, as well as those athletes who are already committed and present students in the program. It could also affect enrollment numbers for the school as no athlete or student wants to be a part of an organization in which employees are accused of actions such as Tucker. With firing Tucker, the school is making the best decision to try and move on and not impact their current students as well as future students.