EAST LANSING – Former Michigan State University football coach Mel Tucker is asking a federal judge to consider an Ingham County judge’s ruling that his conversations with Brenda Tracy were consensual and not sexual harassment.
Tucker’s attorney, Rita Glavin, argued in a Feb. 19 federal filing that Tucker’s lawsuit against MSU should not be dismissed at the university’s request because Ingham County Circuit Judge Wanda Stokes ruled that the conduct at issue in the lawsuit between Tucker and Tracy was consensual.
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Tucker is suing MSU for wrongful termination, arguing that he was owed more than $80 million in a 10-year, $95 million contract he signed two years before he was fired.
Stokes dismissed Tracy’s lawsuit against Tucker at a Jan. 28 hearing. Tracy filed the lawsuit in 2024, claiming Tucker knowingly made false statements in an attempt to damage her public image and reputation, including claiming she fabricated sexual harassment allegations to extort money from him and MSU.
Tracy’s lawsuit against Tucker comes two years after she filed an initial complaint with the university’s Office of Institutional Equity, saying the coach made sexual comments to her and masturbated while on the phone with her.
Tucker has repeatedly denied the sexual harassment accusations and said their relationship was consensual.
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Stokes dismissed nine of Tracy’s lawsuits during a Jan. 28 hearing, saying the claims were either barred by the statute of limitations or there were no factual issues for the jury to consider. Tracy is appealing Stokes’ ruling in a separate lawsuit he filed against Tucker in 2023 that contains similar counts but remains pending before the Michigan Court of Appeals.
Stokes also said she believed all the information contained in the lawsuit “suggests that these individuals were consenting adults,” according to a court transcript of the Jan. 28 hearing.
Tracey’s attorney, Karen Truszkowski, argued that nothing in the record indicated anything was consensual, pointing to MSU’s investigation of Tucker as support.
Brenda Tracy, right, and attorney Karen Trudzkoski appear before Judge Rosemary Aquilina in Ingham County Circuit Court in downtown Mason on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, to review an amended agreement between Tracy and the legal team of former Michigan State University football coach Mel Tucker. Tucker did not appear in court.
Tracy is a spokesperson and advocate for victims of sexual assault and has spoken with many college athletes across the country, including Michigan State University’s football team, as part of her work with the nonprofit organization Setting Expectations.
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An internal investigation conducted by MSU before the lawsuit found that Tucker sexually harassed and exploited Tracy by masturbating and making sexual comments without Tracy’s consent during an April 2022 phone call; made unwanted sexual advances toward Tracy in the months leading up to the call; and engaged in quid pro quo sexual harassment after he ended their business relationship. The decision was made official in January 2024 after Tucker’s appeal failed. Tucker said in his original lawsuit that MSU conducted a “sham investigation” and discriminated against him because he is black.
“She did not give him permission to do this, and the OIE investigation … resulted in that,” Trushkovsky told Stokes, according to court transcripts. “There is nothing in the record to indicate that this was consensual.”
While Tracy is not involved in the lawsuit between Tucker and MSU, his attorneys argued in a Feb. 19 filing that Stokes’ dismissal of the separate case supports claims that Tucker was unfairly fired.
In September 2023, Michigan State fired Tucker after an investigation found he sexually harassed Tracy. Tracy was fired just weeks after a USA Today report made public Tracy’s allegations.
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Documents show Tucker filed a lawsuit against the university in August 2024, aiming to obtain the remainder of his salary, which totaled more than $80 million. That’s the amount that remains unpaid on his 10-year, $95 million contract extension.
There are at least four state or federal lawsuits related to Tucker’s firing, at least two of which are between Tucker and Tracy. In addition to the recently dismissed case, Tracy sued Tucker in 2023 after Tucker’s attorneys released text messages shared between her and her friend, Ahlan Alvarado, who is now deceased. The lawsuit was dismissed in May 2024. Tracy also filed a federal lawsuit against the board of trustees, alleging someone at the university leaked her name to the media.
On Feb. 20, attorneys for MSU filed a motion to dismiss Tracy’s federal lawsuit against the university, alleging that two university trustees, Rep. Rema Vassar, D-Detroit, and Rep. Dennis Denno, D-East Lansing, leaked her name to the media during the OIE investigation.
MSU hired the law firm Jones Day to investigate, and the firm announced to the board of trustees in December 2023 that it was unable to uncover any leaks. Danno was not interviewed as part of the investigation and declined to turn over his college phone number to investigators.
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Please contact Karly Graham at kgraham@lsj.com. Follow her on X @KarlyGrahamJrn.
This article originally appeared in the Lansing State Journal: After court win, Mel Tucker asks federal judge to rule he was wrongfully fired
