Report: Mel Tucker, attorney got sexual harassment hearing moved to Michigan State's bye week
More details are starting to emerge regarding the investigation into suspended Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker. The investigation wrapped up in July, but Tucker and his attorney got the hearing moved to the Spartans’ bye week, Kenny Jacoby of The Lansing State Journal reported.
Michigan State hired an outside investigator to look into a Title IX complaint by Brenda Tracy about Tucker, and that investigation wrapped July 25, according to the Lansing State Journal. The hearing was initially set for Aug. 22 and 23, but Tucker and his attorney said he wasn’t available that day.
The administrator then suggested 10 more days in September, which were all weekdays, but Tracy and her attorney available for one of them, the report said. Tucker said he wasn’t available for the other nine, so it got moved to Oct. 5 and 6, which lined it up with Michigan State’s bye week. The hearing was moved beyond the usual 60-day threshold because the scheduling administrator noted scheduling conflicts and the need for more time to review the 1,200-page file.
University policy also says cases will usually wrap up within 90 days of a complaint. Tucker’s case will now stretch 216 days, and that’s largely due to the fact he didn’t meet with investigators for three months, per the Lansing State Journal.
Michigan State suspended Tucker without pay in light of the allegations against him. They surfaced in a USA TODAY report, which came to the attention of administrators who chose to suspend Tucker shortly thereafter. Tracy said she didn’t want to reveal her identity, but an “outside party” did so, which is why USA TODAY published its report.
As for why the school didn’t take action until recently, the board of trustees released a statement explaining it knew about the investigation, but not details.
“The MSU board of trustees was notified in December 2022 that there was a complaint filed against Mel Tucker,” the statement read. “The MSU administration did not provide the Board details of the allegation or the identity of the claimant at any time during the ongoing investigation, following MSU protocol and best practices for RVSM-related cases.
“Further, the Board was advised that the appropriate interim and personnel measures regarding Mel Tucker were put into place at that time. The Board found out greater details surrounding the case via the media stories breaking on Sept. 10.”
Harlon Barnett has now taken over as interim head coach while Mark Dantonio re-joined the staff as an associate head coach. Michigan State is currently preparing for its third game of the season when Washington makes the trip to East Lansing on Saturday.