I haven’t made a study of this case. My understanding is
- Mel Tucker was fired for sexual harassment and making false statements
- Brenda Tracy has accused Tucker
- I’ve seen no one other than Tucker accused
There’s a USA Today article
Michigan State is investigating claim that the Spartans coach harassed Brenda Tracy, an anti-gender-based violence activist and trainer.
www.usatoday.com
Everything I have seen indicates he was fired for the inappropriate relationship, which he has freely admitted to having, and harming the reputation of Michigan State in all this. He was under investigation for sexual misconduct, but the bottom line was he never should have been having a relationship with a vendor in the first place. Not a perfect analogy, but it's like arguing you were driving the speed limit when you don't have a license to begin with.
Michigan State has fired football coach Mel Tucker for cause, saying he "brought public disrespect, contempt and ridicule upon the university."
www.espn.com
In a statement, the university said it had terminated Tucker's contract "for his admitted and undisputed behaviors which have brought public disrespect, contempt and ridicule upon the university; and constitute a material breach of his agreement, and moral turpitude."
Haller claimed in the letter that the school had "amassed a body of undisputed evidence of misconduct that warrants termination for cause."
"Simply put, Mr. Tucker's response does not provide any information that refutes or undermines the multiple grounds for termination for cause set forth in the notice," Haller said in a statement Wednesday. "Instead, his 25-page response, which includes a 12-page letter from his attorney and a 13-page 'expert report,' provides a litany of excuses for his inappropriate behavior while expressly admitting to the problematic conduct outlined in the notice."
His lawyers are doing anything they can to muddy the waters as to whether it was sexual assault and the woman is credible, which is not surpising given the money at stake, but that really only matters for the school's investigation and trial of the sexual assault Ultimately for Tucker though, getting fired for having a relationship he wasnt supposed to but was otherwise consensual vs getting deemed to have committed sexual assault, even if not by a real court, will have a massive effect on if, where, and when he gets hired again.