Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker ‘under investigation for sexual harassment’… after activist and rape survivor alleges has ‘masturbated on a phone call without her consent’
Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker ‘under investigation for sexual harassment’… after activist and rape survivor claims she ‘masturbated without her consent during a phone call’
- Mel Tucker has reportedly been the subject of a lengthy investigation by the school
- He claims the relationship with Brenda Tracy is “consensual and intimate.”
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker is being investigated by the university over allegations of sexual harassment by a prominent activist and rape survivor, according to reports.
The investigation into Tucker, who was sidelined for his team’s victory on Saturday and is one of the highest-paid coaches in the country, is said to have been going on for months after Brenda Tracy filed a complaint.
USA Today report that Tracy claims Tucker sent her gifts, made unwanted sexual comments and masturbated without her consent during a phone call.
Tracy visited the university twice in 2021 and 2022 to speak to the football team about preventing sexual misconduct, the report states, and was even named an honorary captain of the team.
She claims that after her second visit, Coach Tucker “called her several times and asked to meet him alone repeatedly” before noting that he could “slip into her hotel through a back door” so no one would see him.
Michigan State coach Mel Tucker was on the sidelines for his team’s victory on Saturday
The coach is being investigated by the school for alleged sexual harassment, reports say
Tucker, meanwhile, claims in a letter to investigators that the couple’s relationship is “consensual and intimate” and acknowledges that he masturbated during the phone call, but insists the phone sex was consensual.
In the letter, as shared by USA Today, Tucker, 51, wrote, “Ms. Tracy’s twisting of our mutually consensual and intimate relationship into accusations of sexual exploitation really affected me.
“I’m not proud of my judgment and I have a hard time forgiving myself for getting into this situation, but I committed absolutely no wrongdoing.”
Tucker currently has a base salary of $5.9 million per year and signed a huge contract in 2021, including an additional $3.1 million year for media appearances, bringing his annual income to approximately $9 million.
Tracy, meanwhile, spoke to USA Today about her allegations, claiming his actions reopened the wounds from when she was raped 25 years earlier by four men: two Oregon State University football players, a junior college player and a high school recruit .
Brady Tracy, a rape survivor and advocate for sexual assault victims, made the claims
Michigan State is 2-0 on the season, but Tucker’s future in charge of the team is now unclear
“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 that it’s hard for me to even think about it,” she said. “It’s as if he only sought me out to betray me.”
It is said that a hearing to decide whether Tucker violated the university’s sexual harassment policy is scheduled for October 5 and 6.
It is currently unclear whether Tucker will be sidelined in the interim, after news of the investigation surfaced in the media.
The team is 2-0 after losing to Richmond 45-14 on Saturday.