Michigan State Football Coach Under Investigation For Sexual Harassment

(CTN News) – There is an ongoing investigation into the sexual harassment practices of Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker stemming from a complaint filed by Brenda Tracy, a prominent rape survivor and activist in December, according to a report by USA Today.

On April 28, 2022, Tracy claims that Tucker committed a number of inappropriate acts on her, including making sexually suggestive comments about her, and masturbation while she was “frozen for several minutes” during a phone call between the two of them.

The notion that someone can know me and say they understand my trauma, but then re-inflict that trauma on me is so disgusting to me that it’s hard for me to even comprehend what the person is trying to do, Michigan State Tracy told USA Today.

The way he has treated me feels as if he has sought me out in order to betray me.”

After publicly sharing her own experience with assault within college sports programs in 2014, Tracy gained prominence for her activism against sexual violence, particularly within college sports programs as a result of her own experiences.

In 1998, Tracy was raped by four men, including three Oregon State football players and a recruit from Oregon State.

As a result of Tucker’s invitation to Tracy to come and speak to the Spartans players and staff on the Michigan State campus three times beginning in 2021, Tracy visited the Spartan campus three times.

There was a time when she was honored as an honorary captain during the Michigan State spring football game.

It is true that Tucker acknowledged the April 28 phone call occurred in the statements he provided to the Title IX investigator, but he maintained that the meeting was consensual.

“My dear Ms. Tucker’s distortion of our mutually consensual and intimate relationship into allegations of sexual exploitation has had a profound effect on me,” Tucker wrote in a March letter sent to the investigator that was obtained by USA Today and that was obtained by the media outlet.

I regret my judgment, and I’m having a hard time forgiving myself for getting myself into this situation in the first place. However, I do not consider myself to have committed any misconduct by any means.”

USA Today reports that a formal hearing is scheduled for October 5 and 6 to determine whether Tucker violated Michigan State’s school policy banning sexual harassment and exploitation in the classroom.

As of the start of the 2020 season, Michigan State has hired Tucker as its head football coach. There are a total of 20-14 overall records for him with the Spartans, and he is currently under a 10-year, $95 million contract, making him one of the highest-paid college football coaches in the country.

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