Did Michigan State Wait Until Story On Investigation Into Mel Tucker Was Published To Suspend Him? It's Complicated, But Yes

Did Michigan State wait until a story broke about Mel Tucker being investigated for sexual harassment to indefinitely suspend him? Maybe, which shouldn't be the main takeaway from the ongoing Title IX investigation, but it's certainly a glaring part of it.

An independent attorney started working on the complaint when it was filed in December, then recently turned over to the school on July 25th. During this time period, one would think university officials knew something about the allegations from Brenda Tracy.

What is concerning about this situation is the fact it took a story from USA Today for the school to then punish Mel Tucker publicly with an indefinite suspension. If all it took for Michigan State to suspend Mel Tucker was a detailed story to be released, imagine where we'd be if the story came out before the season started.

Well, as Dan Murphy reported, Michigan State officials were aware of the sexual harassment complaint, but did not know the details until the story was released. I can see this being the case, if leaders wanted to be impartial for the hearing in October.

But, this is a bit worrisome if the immediate reaction was to suspend Tucker, after they combed through the report. This all follows USA Today releasing a detailed article about the investigation.

Did Michigan State Only Act Now Because Of Story?

Did a story that was published at 12:45am ET Sunday morning really catch Michigan State officials off-guard? One would hope the answer to that question would not be yes for the Spartans administration, but it doesn't sound as if even athletic director Alan Haller was made aware of the details.

What they most likely didn't expect was Brenda Tracy sharing details of the investigation with USA Today, along with over 1,000 documents from the case. This moment led to Michigan State informing the public of the ongoing investigation that will culminate at a hearing Oct. 5 and 6.

Dan Murphy reported that the reason for the suspension was for 'unprofessional behavior.'

Also, school leaders did not learn that Mel Tucker had told investigators that any type of sexual encounter had occurred.

There had to be somebody on campus that could've been made aware of this. But, it doesn't sound as if it made it up the ladder, to anybody, which is also alarming.

But here we are, one day after a bombshell report detailing the allegations from Brenda Tracy and testimony from Mel Tucker. It's understandable not to believe everything Michigan State has to say regarding these types of issues, based on recent history with the Larry Nassar situation.

Head coach Mel Tucker of the Michigan State Spartans reacts from the side line during the first quarter of their game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Spartan Stadium on October 15, 2022 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images)

"Initially, there was (to be) no contact with the complainant and then also increased oversight from me of the program but then also the coach,” MSU AD Alan Haller said Sunday evening. “So, it’s an ongoing process, and we update those interim measures as we receive information.”

Details Of Investigation Made Public Through USA Today

While one network was discussing the possibility of litigation on Saturday night, USA Today was preparing to release a detailed report from Brenda Tracy.

Over the course of her relationship with Michigan State, Mel Tucker invited Tracy to campus three times over an eight month period. 

But, during a phone call on April 28, 2022, this relationship changed. According to a report she filed with the Michigan State Title IX office in December, ‘Tucker made sexual comments about her and masturbated’ while the pair were on a phone call together. Over the course of the investigation, Mel Tucker ‘acknowledged masturbating on the call but said Tracy grossly mischaracterize the episode’, according to the report. Mel Tucker claims that it was consensual “phone sex.”

During the course of the investigation, Mel Tucker met with the outside counsel working on the case, emphasizing that he did not engage in any misconduct.

“Ms. Tracy’s distortion of our mutually consensual and intimate relationship into allegations of sexual exploitation has really affected me,” Tucker wrote in a March 22 letter to the investigator. “I am not proud of my judgment and I am having difficulty forgiving myself for getting into this situation, but I did not engage in misconduct by any definition.”

Mel Tucker's Side Of Story. Is The Phone Call Enough?

What is interesting in the defense of Mel Tucker is that both him and Tracy deleted all correspondence during the time period, according to the USA Today story. Also during this time, the pair spoke 27 times, for almost 30 minutes on each call.

Brenda Tracy appears at an NCAA Pac-12 college football game between the Stanford Cardinal and the Utah Utes on October 6, 2018 at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by David Madison/Getty Images)

One other key part of the investigation was Brenda Tracy admitting that during their after midnight call, where Mel Tucker engages in what he calls 'phone sex', she did not hang up the call. According to the investigation, the pair talked for 36-minutes, with Brenda Tracy telling the investigators she did not think about hanging up, because she froze in the moment.

While Mel Tucker was pleasuring himself, Brenda Tracy told Mel Tucker that she never wanted to hear about this again, according to USA Today.

After Tracy mentioned didn't want to hear about this again, she closed by saying "we are only friends, that’s it," according to USA Today.

According to Mel Tucker, Brenda Tracy agreed to do this one time. So, there is a back and forth argument within the investigation about the phone call in question. Also, there was the argument between the pair on whether or not to engage in 'phone sex', with Mel Tucker telling investigators that she agreed to do it one time.

“Unequivocally, there’s no doubt about it,” Tucker told the investigator, USA Today reported. “She was the one who said we’ll do it.”

School Following Protocol, Potentially Firing Tucker For Cause

The element of this investigation are headed towards a hearing in October that will determine the fate of Mel Tucker. But, with the suspension on Sunday, multiple sources mentioned that this has to do with following the correct protocol.

If the school feels the need to fire Mel Tucker with cause, preventing Tucker from collecting on his guaranteed contract, which has around $80 million remaining on it right now, then this hearing is the next step. The schools will give Tucker the chance to present his side of the story, but as we've seen with the USA Today report, it's mostly out there right now.

What else could Mel Tucker say at the hearing, which coincides with a Michigan State off-week, that could see him return to his office? The reality is, there's not much left for him to say that he hasn't already given to the investigators. Could something else come out over the next three weeks? Sure, but what else could help Mel Tucker?

There will be a time where the school will turnover correspondence from the past few months, leading to the decision on Sunday evening. For now, outside perception is that the school was caught off-guard and all we can do is believe the leadership in East Lansing.

Either way, this is a bad look for Michigan State, once again.