At Michigan State, a Coach’s Ouster Exposes New Problems and Exacerbates Old Ones

In September, after a protracted process that left some asking why they hadn’t acted sooner, Michigan State University fired head football coach Mel Tucker over allegations of sexual misconduct. According to a complaint filed with the university’s Title IX office in December 2022, Tucker “made unwanted sexual advances” and “masturbated while on a telephone call” with a university vendor. The vendor, Brenda Tracy, is a prominent sexual-abuse survivor and activist who was hired in 2021 to educate the football team on sexual-misconduct prevention.Despite “having detailed knowledge of the allegations for months,” MSU finally suspended Tucker after a September 10 story in USA Today detailed the charges against him. He was officially fired on September 27, and a week later MSU held a hearing to determine if he’d violated the school’s sexual-misconduct policy. Tucker responded to the timing of that October 5 hearing by saying “MSU cut off any semblance of interest in the truth or due process by terminating me weeks before the hearing,” and he appears poised to challenge his termination, which would deprive him of about $80 million remaining in his contract.This high-profile case is further complicated by the Larry Nassar saga. Nassar, the longtime doctor for USA Gymnastics, who was also employed by MSU, admitted to molesting girls under his care for about two decades. The case resulted in a $500 million settlement with the university, and with Nassar serving, in effect, a life sentence in federal prison.Rachael Denhollander, a lawyer and former gymnast who spent years trying to work with MSU’s board to put in place reforms and new procedures, said of the current situation, “They don’t want outside accountability. We tried to fix these issues. This is a repeat of 2014.” Regardless of the outcomes of the cases involving Mel Tucker and Brenda Tracy, a larger question remains: How will the university address its culture and how it handles cases of harassment, abuse, and sexual violence in the future? to the top Sources & Further Reading