Mel Tucker suspended for ‘not living up to core values,’ MSU says
Mel Tucker is currently suspended without pay as of Sunday evening with Michigan State AD Alan Haller announcing the details at a press conference. Since then, more details about the timeline of events and when MSU leadership learned the details of the investigation have filtered out.
According to ESPN’s Dan Murphy, an MSU spokeswoman confirmed Sunday evening that Spartan leadership knew of a complaint filed against Tucker by Brenda Tracy in late December. However, university leaders — including AD Haller — did not know the details of the complaint until Saturday night.
Murphy also cited Title IX and sexual misconduct experts who said that is the proper, trauma-informed protocol for handling this form of complaint. Michigan State leadership — Tucker’s bosses — should not have known about the details during an open case per Murphy.
Title IX and sexual misconduct experts say this is the proper, trauma-informed protocol for how to handle this kind of complaint. Tucker’s bosses should not have known the details during an open case.
— Dan Murphy (@DanMurphyESPN) September 11, 2023
Murphy also cited the MSU spokeswoman for revealing the official reason for Tucker’s suspension was “unprofessional behavior and not living up to the core values of the department and university.” Prior to this weekend, the university did not know Tucker had admitted to any sexual encounters.
The university spokeswoman said the official reason for Tucker’s suspension is “unprofessional behavior and not living up to the core values of the department and university.”
They didn’t learn Tucker had admitted to any sexual encounters until this weekend. https://t.co/dwd5FVDtdh
— Dan Murphy (@DanMurphyESPN) September 11, 2023