The Michigan State head coach has been sued by his own trusted player for a hugely terminated project.

The Michigan State head coach has been sued by his own trusted player for a hugely terminated project.

A valued teammate of the Michigan State head coach filed a lawsuit against him for a project that was abruptly abandoned. Mel Tucker, the fired football coach for the Spartans, notified Michigan State University on Thursday that he was getting ready to sue the university for possible wrongful termination.

In a letter to Michigan State’s general counsel, Tucker’s legal representative asked that the institution keep paper and electronic records for every employee in the athletic department as well as a few other staff members “in anticipation of litigation.”

About a month after sexual assault prevention advocate Brenda Tracy accused Michigan State football coach Justin Tucker of pestering her sexually after she signed on to work with the team, Tucker was fired for cause on Wednesday.

Tucker was being fired for reason, according to athletic director Alan Haller, because of 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.”

Jennifer Belveal, Tucker’s lawyer, referred to Michigan State’s actions as an “illegal termination” in her letter. Michigan State is not obligated to pay Tucker any of the approximately $79 million that was left on his long-term contract with the football program because Tucker was fired for a reason.

In a letter to Haller last week as well as in other public statements, Tucker disputed the termination.

On September 10, Tucker was placed on paid leave by Michigan State following the disclosure of information on his alleged sexual harassment of Tracy in a USA Today article. In December 2022, Tracy reported to the university that Tucker had engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior with her and had engaged in consensual phone masturbation.

In order to find out if Tucker broke the university’s sexual misconduct policy, the university engaged the services of an outside investigator. Next week comes the hearing to determine whether any infractions occurred.

Tucker claimed to have an intimate relationship with Tracy and that his actions during the phone call were consensual. Tucker claims to be separated from his wife. He claimed that his conversations with Tracy had nothing to do with his employment at Michigan State and were instead private affairs. Following his suspension, Tucker denounced the probe as a “sham.” He said there was no due process involved in his dismissal.

Regardless of the verdict in his ongoing sexual harassment hearing, Haller informed Tucker in a letter last week that he had breached his contract because, among other things, he had acknowledged having intercourse with a woman who the university had recruited as a vendor.

In a letter to Michigan State’s general counsel dated Thursday, Tucker requested that the university keep all physical files, phone conversations, and computer records created by staff members of the athletic department, the general counsel’s office, the university, and the board of trustees at Michigan State, among other parties.