MSU is hoping to dump him and his huge contract.
Michigan State: Mel Tucker fired
Tuck’s cummin’
Sorry had to! Lol
Sorry had to! Lol
Neidermeyer
- Faber College
He's such a jerk.
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
I believe every word of Tuckers statement....and it still doesn't matter. I have no doubt that woman turned on him.
I also have no doubt that you have to be absolutely dumb as doorknob to pursue such a relationship.
He is absolutely getting screwed....by himself. Apparently he likes....doing things to himself?
I also have no doubt that you have to be absolutely dumb as doorknob to pursue such a relationship.
He is absolutely getting screwed....by himself. Apparently he likes....doing things to himself?
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
I just reread that USA Today article. If this were a coach yielding a Top 10 result annually MSU would find a way to retain Tucker, even in the wake of its disgraceful sexual assault/harassment history. Insert Urban Meyer in Tucker's place and I have little doubt they'd determine how to keep him.
As it is, MSU probably began having buyer's remorse about Tucker and his gigantic contract last season. Don't forget that D'Antonio abruptly "retired" in early February 2020 and the program had been sliding and out of control on the discipline front. As we Illini know, that's not an opportune time to be looking for a new coach. Tucker had already turned them down once and then apparently reconsidered and was hired. MSU latched onto him and, after his 11-1 second season, locked him in. Last year was grim and this year didn't look much better for them. Recruiting has been poor.
The article notes that:
The only way he could lose out on the money, the contract said, was if he materially breached it, was convicted of a crime or engaged in “conduct which, in the University’s reasonable judgment, would tend to bring public disrespect, contempt or ridicule on the University.”
I'm interested in the poster earlier who noted he/she is an attorney and implied that MSU's case to terminate for cause is flimsy. How so? I'm very queasy about institutions getting into individuals' private lives, but he was dealing with a university vendor and on MSU travel. There's no doubt that he has brought a trifecta of further public disrespect, contempt and ridicule on a university already saturated in it. The only question seems to be whether MSU can indeed substantiate that he actually engaged in the conduct at issue. He apparently already has admitted to the Title IX investigator that he did.
None of the three parties involved want this thing anywhere near a court. I assume MSU will offer him ~$15-20mm to go away. He'll need some of that to settle with Ms. Tracy after she threatens to sue him in civil court. I read his statement. It beats Pat Fitzgerald's by a furlong. It's precious that he believes that any Title IX investigation or subsequent hearing is designed to elicit the "truth." If only.
As it is, MSU probably began having buyer's remorse about Tucker and his gigantic contract last season. Don't forget that D'Antonio abruptly "retired" in early February 2020 and the program had been sliding and out of control on the discipline front. As we Illini know, that's not an opportune time to be looking for a new coach. Tucker had already turned them down once and then apparently reconsidered and was hired. MSU latched onto him and, after his 11-1 second season, locked him in. Last year was grim and this year didn't look much better for them. Recruiting has been poor.
The article notes that:
The only way he could lose out on the money, the contract said, was if he materially breached it, was convicted of a crime or engaged in “conduct which, in the University’s reasonable judgment, would tend to bring public disrespect, contempt or ridicule on the University.”
I'm interested in the poster earlier who noted he/she is an attorney and implied that MSU's case to terminate for cause is flimsy. How so? I'm very queasy about institutions getting into individuals' private lives, but he was dealing with a university vendor and on MSU travel. There's no doubt that he has brought a trifecta of further public disrespect, contempt and ridicule on a university already saturated in it. The only question seems to be whether MSU can indeed substantiate that he actually engaged in the conduct at issue. He apparently already has admitted to the Title IX investigator that he did.
None of the three parties involved want this thing anywhere near a court. I assume MSU will offer him ~$15-20mm to go away. He'll need some of that to settle with Ms. Tracy after she threatens to sue him in civil court. I read his statement. It beats Pat Fitzgerald's by a furlong. It's precious that he believes that any Title IX investigation or subsequent hearing is designed to elicit the "truth." If only.
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It pays to lie. In this case, for all involved. Sad.
It doesn't sound like she's got much of a case.
It's hard to believe someone could show much less wisdom than Tucker.
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
I agree but I'd be surprised if he escapes without paying her. Am interested in what the attorneys among us think based on the limited data.
Now that the Governor’s office is involved MSU will have more external factors on it. Those factors never seem to help one way or another
From a legal standpoint who needs to prove it was/was not consensual. How tough is it legally to prove. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty but in these cases it seems like both sides need to tell their sides of the story. What does the university need to fire him for cause? I got a lot of questions because both sides stories don’t add up
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
Mitch Albom reiterating the real issue.
www.yahoo.com
Mitch Albom: Mel Tucker's decision making, not sex life, has likely cost him his job
Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker, 51, hired to be a “leader” of men, apparently forgot what that word means.
Isn’t @ChiefGritty a lawyer who works in the university space? What’s your take on this man?
In a word, Character.
He has no business leading and developing young people in any setting.
Brenda Tracy statement on Mel Tucker accusation: 'Outside party' leaked her identity
Brenda Tracy said her identity was leaked before coming forward to outline sexual harassment allegations against Michigan State coach Mel Tucker.
She wants him to be cross examined. He shouldn’t have to from a legal sense he might to keep his money
I wouldn’t doubt it, but Mel 100% should have sidestepped this situation, this is all on him. It’s like MSU set up a cardboard box held up by a stick on a long string and Mel walked right under it.
The guy could have gotten many women, much better looking and more willing, that had never been associated with MSU, let alone in the capacity she had been.
Mr. Tibbs
- southeast DuPage
agree 1000%
no one set him up
he's just a fool
he ignored the very advice they tell freshmen and all players every summer about staying away from trouble and its the very reason MSU has no choice but to sever all ties.
if he was stopped by police whilst WALKING home drunk he would get a second chance.
but there are no second chances in this type of stuff
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I may be in the minority, but I fail to see what he did that was so wrong? from a legal/employment perspective at least.
This woman did not work for Tucker, she did not work for MSU. She came and talked to his team ONE day. Tucker just started his 4th season. So of that time, we are talking about ONE day. Ok she came in to talk about sexual abuse, so? Did he sexually abuse her? Seems like they never had a physical relationship at all. It is boiling down to a he said/she said. And sorry, but I have a difficult time believing that the harassing event was a 36 min cross country phone call. Anyone that has ever watched an episode of 2 Broke Girls knows how dreadfully long 30 mins can be. So she sat there offended and disgusted for 36 mins and never just hung up?
I agree with others, I find it awfully strange that this phone call happened in April and she said nothing until December. What else happened in December, hmmm maybe the end of year 1 of a $95 m fully guaranteed contract ending 5-7 had something to do with it? No clue if it was a setup, by the timing certainly is strange.
The way I see it, 2 consenting adults had some form of relationship, unless you believe he called her up out of the blue almost a year after she spoke to his team and forced phone sex upon her. Was he a slimeball to his wife? Should she say I think I'll take half of that $95 m and leave, absolutely. But did he do anything that should endanger his employment, certainly doesn't sound like it. If we are going to start firing coaches for cheating on their wives (and in this case not even physically) then we are not going to have many coaches left at the highest levels.
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Check out post #106 for his contract language. It’s in there for a reason. He’s a key public face of the team and the university. You and I can get away with conduct that gets someone like him fired. Seems appropriate since he signed it.
The only way he could lose out on the money, the contract said, was if he materially breached it, was convicted of a crime or engaged in “conduct which, in the University’s reasonable judgment, would tend to bring public disrespect, contempt or ridicule on the University.”
So universities are going to hold employees accountable if they have an affair or a relationship outside of a marriage?
The story went viral because of what she does for a living and to a lesser extent the history of MSU.
Until the allegations are proven he should be being paid. If the university wanted to suspend him without pay they should have done it as soon as the allegations were filed. MSU is allowing the media change the way they are dealing with it instead of explaining why they handle it the way the did.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
So then someone at the University 100% leaked this info, right? Because if it happened behind the scenes and no one would knew about it, they would have no grounds to fire him.
But… if the media does a story on it, now it’s bringing ridicule on the university.
Whether they set him up or not, they leaked this.
Hey guys, I don’t have a dog in this fight, as the old saying goes. Just sayin’ Mel was a reckless fool to sign such a contract and then behave the way he did. Consensual, setup, leak, whatever . . . it was foolish and arrogant. Character is critical in leadership, and he failed the character test, just my opinion of course. I’m sure he’ll land some sort of coaching gig, but not at this level.
sbillini
- st petersburg, fl
I'm no lawyer, i'm sure the ones on this board have contributed more informed opinions than me....but if he signed a contract with the language saying they can fire him for anything that brings "public disrespect, conempt, or ridicule"...at the university's judgment, then that opens up a whole box of worms:
1. Why sign that vague and unbalanced language in the first place???? Where did his agents/lawyers drop the ball? i'm guessing it's standard language for high profile employees in many industries. It's just the risk you take for getting paid the s***ton of money. You take the good with the bad. It may seem unfair, but if it is, you're free to not sign it. But he did.
As a personal example, i hired a builder to build a house for my family. We were going through contract review last year, and they had language that basically said "the customer cannot say anything negative about the builder, publicly (e.g. online reviews, etc) or privately, regardless of whether it's true or not". On the flip side, the builder could say whatever they wanted, positive or negative, as long as it was true. I had issue with that language. They didn't want to change it. I told them i wouldn't sign it and was ready to walk away. They caved.
2. Now that it's signed, you've put yourself in the spotlight. You've opened yourself to this very type of scrutiny. it's not unfair anymore because you signed off on the rules. You've put yourself at a higher standard than a normal employee would.
3. Now there's probably some legal limit as to how high of a standard your employer can put you through, and that's probably the game being played right now. But the fact of the matter is, Mel just gave the university enough ammo to legitimately make the claim, and now it'll be the back and forth that'll decide where it lands.
Finally, someone commented that she wasn't a university employee - she was a contractor being paid by the university. That's not that different than an employee directly. I've seen that limited delineation first hand in my professional life (not to me directly, to someone else i worked with).
It sure sounds like a consensual relationship gone sour .
I think the public contempt bar is pretty hard to clear these days. It was just revealed that a candidate for congress was having sex on line for money. She's still running.
A standard for decency barely exists anymore.
I think the public contempt bar is pretty hard to clear these days. It was just revealed that a candidate for congress was having sex on line for money. She's still running.
A standard for decency barely exists anymore.