EAST LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Disgraced former Michigan State University head football coach Mel Tucker is once again at the center of a legal battle. This time he’s being sued by rape survivor and activist Brenda Tracy for allegedly defaming her reputation.

Tracy filed a 30-page lawsuit in Ingham County Circuit Court saying Tucker sullied her name and reputation by pushing the narrative that the two developed a mutual romance. Tracy and her organization, Set the Expectation, worked with MSU, Tucker, and the football team to help establish a different culture after the Larry Nassar scandal. Tracy maintained she and Tucker developed a friendship, but nothing more.

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The case stems back to December 2022 when Tracy filed a Title IX investigation with the East Lansing school and claimed unwelcomed advances. In addition, Tracy said in April 2022 that Tucker masturbated while on the phone with her. Tucker has always maintained the two participated in consensual phone sex.

MSU investigated Tracy’s claims until July 2023. Then, a USA Today investigation into the report hit the media in September 2023, and MSU immediately placed Tucker on leave while they sorted things out. MSU fired Tucker less than a month later, releasing him from the remaining $75 million left in his 10-year contract.

Since then, Tucker has had his fair share of court battles. He has sued MSU over wrongful termination stemming from health problems and racial discrimination. His wife, Jo-Ellyn Tucker, filed for divorce and sued him for allegedly withdrawing $1.5 million from their joint account to pay his legal expenses.