Michigan State HC Mel Tucker admits to having an "intimate relationship" with Brenda Tracy: Reports

MSU football coach Mel Tucker has been accused of sexual harassment by rape survivor and activist Brenda Tracy.

Numerous reports are saying that the Michigan State football head coach allegedly admitted to masturbating in his April 2022 phone call with Tracy. As reported by USA Today, Tucker admitted to the deed while speaking with a Title IX investigator looking into the incident.

This corroborates one of Tracy's several claims in her accusations, which shook the college football world fairly recently.

Mel Tucker says it was 'consensual'

While speaking to the Title IX investigator, Tucker also claimed that he and Tracy had an intimate relationship.

Aside from that, a separate report by Sports Illustrated mentioned that on March 20, 2022 (the same year that Brenda Tracy filed her complaint), Tucker reportedly wrote a letter to the aforementioned investigator claiming that their relationship was consensual.

The Michigan State head coach included this statement on the letter he sent, as per the abovementioned SI report:

"Ms. Tracy's distortion of our mutually consensual and intimate relationship into allegations of sexual exploitation has really affected me. 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."

Aftermath of Mel Tucker's recent allegations

In 2021, Tucker signed a massive 10-year, $95 million contract to coach the Spartans (via CBS Sports).

This made him one of the highest-paid college football coaches this season, in the same league as Nick Saban, Dabo Swinney, and Kirby Smart, to name a few.

But with the sexual misconduct allegations hanging over his head, there could be a chance that Michigan State fires Tucker before the season ends.

For now, it is known that the school will have to pay him unless he breaks these three rules, via the Detroit Free Press:

If he "materially breaches the contract"
If he gets convicted of a crime
If he engages in any conduct that could bring ill repute to the University

If he is found in sufficient violation of the third rule and the Title IX statutes during his October hearing, he would lose almost $80 million and lose access to a $2 million life insurance plan.

About the author

Raphel Jairo “Jai” Barnachia is a College Basketball and Football writer at Sportskeeda. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication, which helped shape a career in sports writing that includes a rich 11 years of experience for Tech Times, GameNGuide and several digital marketing and SEO web content companies.

Jai believes college sports are on par with mainstream leagues, but they have more passionate fans. His all-time favorite student athlete is UNC’s Michael Jordan, but has also enjoyed Caitlin Clark’s dominance in recent years. He enjoys a good underdog story, evidenced by his admiration for NC State’s final-four run in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Seven-time national championship winner Nick Saban is his favorite coach.

Jai strengths lie in conducting deep technical dives owing to his above-average understanding of college basketball, and creates compelling content by conducting in-depth research and referring only to reputable sources. Aside from writing, Jai enjoys playing video games and often goes to the theater or listens to music in his free time.

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Edited by Deepesh Nair