EAST LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Michigan State University football coach Mel Tucker has been suspended as the active coach less than 24 hours after it was revealed he is the subject of an MSU Title IX investigation into allegations of sexual harassment.
The university announced Sunday Tucker is on leave without pay pending the outcome of the investigation.
Erroneous reports Sunday initially stated that Tucker was fired by Michigan State. Rather, the Title IX investigation will continue as scheduled before the university makes a decision on his future leading the Spartans program. A formal hearing will begin October 5.
Secondary coach Harlon Barnett will serve as the acting head coach.
A complaint filed in December 2022 by Brenda Tracy, a prominent rape survivor and activist against sexual violence, accused Tucker of making sexually suggestive comments and masturbating during a phone call April 28, 2022.
Tracy, who shared the details of the complaint with USA Today, visited MSU at least three times as an activist starting in 2021, including once in which she was recognized as an honorary captain at a Michigan State spring football game, and reportedly and built a relationship with Tucker as part of her work on campus.
Tracy also alleges numerous other inappropriate incidents.
In statements provided to the Title IX investigator and detailed in the report, Tucker acknowledged that the April 28 phone call occurred, but he claimed it was a consensual encounter.
“Ms. Tracy’s distortion of our mutually consensual and intimate relationship into allegations of sexual exploitations has really affected me,” Tucker wrote in a letter to the investigator that was obtained by USA Today. “I am not proud of my judgement and I am having difficulty forgiving myself for getting into this situation, but I did not engage in misconduct by any definition.”
