The firing of football coach Mel Tucker from Michigan State University (MSU) following a sexual misconduct scandal that involved allegations from Brenda Tracy, a sexual assault awareness speaker, threw the team into turmoil. Left without a head coach mid-season, the Spartans needed a new coach and someone who could rebuild trust within the team and the broader MSU community.
Tracy claimed—among other things—that Tucker masturbated without her consent during a phone call in April 2022. Tucker claimed that the interactions were consensual, and his lawyer noted that the two had a personal relationship.
Still, the university decided to terminate his 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.”
Universities have been home to major sexual misconduct cases, especially by university coaches.
The Penn State scandal involving Jerry Sandusky remains one of the most well-known in college football history. Sandusky, a former assistant coach, was convicted of multiple counts of child molestation. The scandal exposed a culture of silence and denial within the university, with university employees failing to report incidents to law enforcement. Baylor University also faced a scandal when an investigation revealed systemic failures in how the university handled allegations of sexual misconduct involving its football program. The investigation found that members of the university had repeatedly mishandled or ignored reports of sexual assault, leading to widespread criticism and calls for accountability and reform.
Investigations into scandals of this type often reveal that institutions prioritize protecting their reputations over genuine reform.
While MSU is not alone in the trust-shattering sphere, the scandal brought about by Tucker’s alleged actions was not the university’s first. Previously, MSU ignored sexual abuse complaints against Larry Nassar for nearly two decades, with multiple reports from 1997 until his exposure in 2016. The university’s Board of Trustees was later accused of covering up the abuse by hiding around 6,000 documents and issuing misleading statements. And, as for Tucker, the controversy is still not quite over. He has filed suit against MSU, saying its “investigation was a ‘sham’ aimed at firing him. He said his right to due process was violated, and he’s requesting compensation.”
As that is sorted out, MSU hopes to calm the storm. The weight of that goal rests on its new coach’s shoulders. Enter Jonathan Smith.
Smith, who was hired to take over as their head coach for the 2024-2025 season, is said to be a highly respected coach with an exemplary reputation, known for his success at Oregon State University (OSU). He is expected to bring energy to the season and rebuild trust with MSU’s football fans and players.
As a representative from MSU puts it: “Jonathan Smith is a coach of high integrity and has a proven track record of success. We believe he is the right person to lead our program forward.”
Smith’s strong ability to recruit top athletes and his dedication to fostering a positive team culture could rebuild MSU’s image. His leadership is anticipated to guide the Spartans to success—without scandal. At OSU, he earned praise for his leadership and commitment to on-and off-the-field development and success, leading the Beavers to consistent winning seasons and supporting athletes’ growth. He views football as more than just a game; it is a means to build a sense of community and instill values like honesty, perseverance, and collaboration in his players. His vision for MSU is to foster a strong team environment and personal development.
This could be a pivotal moment for MSU football. Smith’s commitment to transparency and excellence can create a lasting effect and alter the university’s rough scandal history. Time will tell us what happens. For now, my hope is in Smith.
Image designed by Jared Gould — Guy in suit by Dmitriy on Adobe Stock; Asset ID#: 177946523 — Football Stadium on Flickr — Jonathan Smith on Wikipedia
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Dr. Ed,
MSU fired Tucker before the resolution of his Title IX case because their cause for termination did not hinge on the outcome of the Title IX case.
By Tucker’s own admission, he engaged in a (he says consensual) act with a school vendor that he specifically was in charge of determining whether or not she would be hired by the school for her services.
That is a difficult power dynamic that schools and other organizations–I presume MSU included–generally have procedures for to help ensure that there are no Title IX violations that result (primarily quid pro quo). Had Tucker and Tracy alerted MSU of their consensual relationship, then this would have been a non-issue. Though he had disclosed this to the Title IX investigators (after Tracy filed her complaint), the board and president’s office at MSU only learned of this relationship because Tracy provided USA Today with copies of the Title IX reports to publish.
Michigan also got rid of its last President for just this issue. He did not officially report his relationship with his subordinate (one who did not accuse him of sexual harassment). Your “slippery slope” concerns are not valid.
The Larry Nassar matter is in a different dimension from the “he said/she said” matter involving Mel Tucker and Brenda Tracy, even if everything Tracy alleges is true.
Yes, “institutions [often] prioritize protecting their reputations over genuine reform”, but they also have been known to go off the deep end in the opposite direction, which is what appears to have happened here. The only question is if the late-night phone call was consensual or not, to look at anything more is to go back to a 1950s morality when “moral turpitude” included an unmarried woman becoming pregnant.
Do we really want to go back to an era when female athletes were kicked off the team for spending a night alone with their boyfriends — or worse, girlfriends? That is where this sort of witch hunt mentality could easily go, and I suggest that people be very careful about what they ask for as they very well might get it.
There is one other issue here that academia isn’t really talking about and ought to — Tucker is Black. One of the troubling things being noticed on a qualitative basis is that the young men being brought up on Title IX charges appear to be statistically disproportionate Black. That they appears to be more Black students accused than one would anticipate based on their percentage in the student body.
And this is the one statistic that is not kept — the racial makeup of both accusers and accused in Title IX matters. We simply don’t have the data, we only have qualitative observations.
Now if this was happening in anything else — parking tickets, plagiarism allegations, anything else — we’d have outrage over presumed discrimination even without any data (and an immediate demand that it be recorded & reported). But here, no one is willing to say anything…