Lawyer For Ex-MSU Coach Tucker Plans To Sue For 'Illegal' Firing

EAST LANSING, MI — The attorney for former Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker has informed the university she intends to sue the school, claiming wrongful termination.

Tucker’s attorney, Jennifer Belveal, asked the university in a letter sent last week to maintain electronic and paper records for all members of the athletic department and other Michigan State employees “in anticipation of litigation.”

The letter was sent after Michigan State fired Tucker for cause on Sept. 27 because his "admitted and undisputed behaviors ... brought public disrespect, contempt and ridicule upon the university; and constitute a material breach of his agreement and moral turpitude."

Michigan State saved an estimated $79 million that remained on Tucker’s contract by firing the former coach for cause. Belveal, who did not immediately respond to an email on Monday from Patch seeking comment about a timeline for a lawsuit, called Tucker’s termination “illegal” in the letter.

In a letter to Tucker dated Sept. 18, Director of Athletics Alan Haller notified the coach of the university’s intent to terminate him after the school hired activist and rape survivor Brenda Tracy in 2021 to help reduce sexual misconduct. In 2022, she alleged a Title IX violation, the letter said.

Tucker admitted to commenting on Tracy’s body, making flirtatious comments and what he described as phone sex, according to the letter, which gave him a week to respond.

“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 Wednesday in a prepared statement. “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.”

Tucker’s attorneys had previously taken exception to Michigan State’s characterization of his conduct involving Tracy. His lawyer said that Tucker did not engage in "unprofessional or unethical behavior or moral turpitude' by any stretch of the imagination."

The attorney also said that the school accepted Tracy’s description of the phone call as truth, and did not conduct any "meaningful review" of the facts. Tucker says that the phone sex was consensual.