Michigan State University’s interim president and athletic director will hold a press conference Sunday at 5 p.m., hours after news broke that MSU is investigating head football coach Mel Tucker for sexually harassing a rape survivor and advocate who was advising his team.
A brief message announcing the event to the media says they will “provide an update on the football program."
Early Sunday morning, USA Today published a story detailing an allegation of sexual harassment against Tucker. The story prompted calls for Tucker’s suspension or resignation from pundits, students, and public figures associated with MSU.
Accusing Tucker is Brenda Tracy, a rape survivor and advocate who worked with Tucker to educate his team on sexual violence. Her “Set the Expectation” campaign had MSU athletes pledge to obtain consent before engaging in sexual acts with another person, as well as discuss healthy sexual practices.
But toward the end of their partnership, Tracy claims Tucker made a phone call that began with a sexually suggestive comment about her appearance and ended with Tucker masturbating on the line.
A section from the investigative report, obtained by USA Today, reads:
“(Tracy) ‘kind of froze’ in the moment at first. (She) thought to herself, ‘Oh my god, this is happening, and I can’t stop it, it’s going to happen whether I like it or not.’ (She) was trying to figure out what to do. It didn’t occur to (her) that she could hang up.”
"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," Tracy told USA Today. "It's like he sought me out just to betray me."
In his filings, Tucker admits to masturbating on the call, but denies it was nonconsensual. Tucker, who has a 23-year marriage and two sons, claims he and Tracy had a mutual romantic connection even prior to the phone call, and that they frequently made flirtatious comments towards one another. He alleges Tracy wanted a “sugar daddy” who would regularly pay her money in exchange for sexual and romantic favors.
Tracy says the relationship was one-sided, and that she had to ward off sexual advances in the past.
In December 2022, eight months after the call, Tracy filed the Title IX report.
The investigation is complete, according to USA Today’s report. A hearing to evaluate the evidence and potentially make a finding of wrongdoing is set for October, during the football team’s by-week.
MSU did not comment on USA Today’s story. University spokespeople and the chair of MSU’s board did not return calls or texts from The State News seeking comment Sunday morning.
