Last year, Michigan State University dismissed head football coach Mel Tucker following claims that he sexually harassed a rape survivor he employed to instruct players on sexual assault prevention. On Friday, that individual took legal action against him for defamation.

Brenda Tracy, whose harrowing experience of being gang-raped by college football players in 1998 propelled her into activism and earned her national recognition, alleges in a 30-page lawsuit that Tucker damaged her reputation by falsely suggesting they had a romantic relationship.

The lawsuit, submitted to Ingham County Circuit Court in Michigan, requests a jury trial along with unspecified damages. No financial figure has been disclosed.

Tucker and his legal representatives did not immediately reply to inquiries for comment.

Karen Truszkowski, Tracy’s lawyer, stated: “The lawsuit speaks for itself.” Both she and Tracy opted not to elaborate further.

In her lawsuit, Tracy claims she has suffered future financial losses as well as psychological and emotional distress due to Tucker’s alleged false statements, including claims that she fabricated the allegations to extort money from him and the university. Among other accusations, the lawsuit charges him with breach of contract, misappropriating her business records, and unlawfully accessing her email and personal accounts.

In December 2022, Tracy lodged a complaint with Michigan State’s Title IX office, alleging that Tucker made several unwanted sexual advances throughout their business relationship, culminating in an incident in April 2022 where he masturbated on a phone call without her consent. In his defense, Tucker claimed during the investigation that they had engaged in a single instance of consensual phone sex.

For eight months, the Title IX office conducted a discreet investigation into Tracy’s complaint while Tucker continued coaching the football team. The details of the case became public in September 2023, shortly after Tucker guided MSU to its second victory of the season. Tracy provided YSL News access to her extensive 1,200-page case file, enabling them to report on the issue with her consent.

Immediately after the story was released, Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller and then-interim President Teresa Woodruff held an urgent press conference announcing Tucker’s suspension without pay for the remainder of the ongoing campus investigation. They stated they were aware that a complaint was under review but were unfamiliar with the specifics until they read about them in YSL News.

A week later, Haller informed Tucker of his plans to terminate his contract for cause, nullifying the nearly $75 million remaining on his record-breaking 10-year contract extension that he had signed less than two years prior. Notably, Haller indicated that Tucker’s own account of events—claiming a romantic relationship with Tracy—was grounds for termination in his dismissal letter.

“It is unequivocally unprofessional and unethical to flirt, make sexual remarks, and engage in masturbation over the phone with a university vendor,” Haller wrote. “Your lackluster justifications and misguided attempts to shift blame do not excuse your actions.”

The university officially terminated Tucker’s employment on September 27, marking a dramatic fall from grace for one of the highest-paid coaches across all sports. Meanwhile, the investigation within the campus continued.

MSU held a hearing regarding the case on October 5. Instead of attending, Tucker, along with his attorney Jennifer Belveal and agent Neil Cornrich, sent a 106-page letter to the media and MSU’s Board of Trustees alleging the discovery of “new evidence” that they claimed proved Tracy had falsely accused him for financial gain.

The statement included 98 pages of largely redacted text messages obtained from Tracy’s longtime friend and business manager, who tragically passed away in a car accident that summer. These messages revealed that Tracy had consensually dated a basketball coach who had previously hired her and indicated that she had been facing financial difficulties at the time she filed her complaint with MSU.

In her lawsuit, Tracy asserts that Tucker released this information just 14 minutes into the hearing “knowing that Tracy and her legal team would be blindsided and unable to respond.”

“Tucker ambushed Tracy in a reprehensible attempt to publicly disgrace her,” the lawsuit states.

Tracy successfully secured an emergency restraining order the following day, prohibiting Tucker and his associates from further dissemination of the messages, which she alleged were acquired unlawfully. An Ingham County judge ultimately dismissed that motion.

Earlier this year, a lawsuit was filed.

Several specialists informed YSL News that the text messages in question were mostly insignificant. Subsequently, independent attorneys brought in by the university reached the same conclusion.

On October 25, Amanda Norris Ames, a Title IX lawyer from Virginia, issued a ruling stating that Tucker had sexually harassed and exploited Tracy on numerous occasions before, during, and after the notable April 2022 phone call. Ames found Tucker’s many contradictory statements to the investigator made his version of events hard to trust.

A different outside appeal officer hired by MSU rejected Tucker’s appeal in January, supporting Ames’ findings that Tracy’s story was more credible, consistent, and backed by evidence than his. MSU subsequently banned Tucker from any future employment permanently.

In July, Tucker initiated a lawsuit against MSU, claiming the university unlawfully terminated him, defamed him, and discriminated against him due to his race. He accused the institution of conducting a biased and improper investigation aimed at getting him fired. His attorney, Rita Glavin, declared that MSU’s behavior was not just disgraceful, but also illegal. The legal battle is still ongoing.

Among Tucker’s alleged defamatory remarks regarding Tracy, he claimed she expressed a desire for a “sugar daddy” to financially support her with $4,000 monthly in exchange for being his girlfriend, and that she only reported him because MSU would not meet her financial demands. Tucker also alleged that Tracy sent him a “provocative picture” that led him to engage in inappropriate behavior during their April 2022 phone call, claiming the photo featured Tracy in “tight leather pants.”

Tracy included this photo in her lawsuit, depicting her standing several feet from Tucker inside the MSU football administration building during one of her visits to the campus at his request for a spring football event where Tucker named her an honorary captain.

In the image, she is fully dressed in a long-sleeved black shirt and loose-fitting black athletic pants — the same attire she wore while being celebrated on the jumbotron at Spartan Stadium from the 20-yard line.