Current:Home > ContactEx-Michigan State coach Mel Tucker wins court fight over release of text messages -FutureFinance
Ex-Michigan State coach Mel Tucker wins court fight over release of text messages
View
Date:2025-04-14 03:49:49
MASON, Mich. — An Ingham County judge dismissed a lawsuit brought against former Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker by the woman the school said he sexually harassed.
The lawsuit, which centered around text messages between Brenda Tracy and her friend Ahlan Alvarado that were released by Tucker and his attorneys last year, had been filed on behalf of Tracy's nonprofit and an LLC in her name. Alvarado, who has since died, was Tracy's friend of two decades and also worked as her booking assistant for her nonprofit, Set The Expectation.
MSU fired Tucker for cause last year after Tracy reported that he'd sexually harassed her and the university investigated. Tucker's attorneys have said the messages show Tracy had a personal, consensual relationship with Tucker.
During a hearing on Thursday morning, Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Wanda Stokes dismissed six of the seven counts in the lawsuit because attorneys for Tracy's nonprofit had not met legal standards for the lawsuit to proceed to discovery. She ruled the remaining count was moot because a protective order previously agreed upon between the parties will remain in place.
The protective order bars the release of specific information related to sexual assault, harassment or gender discrimination victims.
The dismissal with prejudice means attorneys for Tracy's nonprofit can't refile the lawsuit.
Eric Delaporte, an attorney for Tracy's nonprofit, said he plans to appeal Stokes' ruling. He also said he will look into remedies for what he said were lies Tucker's attorneys made in court and in filings. He said Tucker and his attorneys ruined the nonprofit's name when they released some texts previously.
Tracy, a national sexual violence prevention advocate who has spoken to MSU's football team and was on campus another time as an honorary captain for a spring game, has said Tucker sexually harassed her, including making sexual comments and having unwanted phone sex with her in 2022.
The legal fight over text messages began about a month after USA TODAY published a story in September detailing MSU's long-running sexual harassment investigation of Tucker. The university suspended him without pay the same day the story was published and weeks later fired him for cause.
In October, the MSU hearing officer hired to adjudicate the harassment proceeding issued a report that found Tucker responsible for violating the school's sexual harassment policy.
Tucker — who denies any wrongdoing and said he and Tracy had a consensual, intimate relationship — has taken steps to file a lawsuit over his termination. According to his contract, signed in 2021, he was owed about $80 million in guaranteed money when he was fired.
In October, on the day of a key hearing in the former coach's harassment case, Tucker's legal team released pages of text messages between Tracy and Alvarado.
Tracy then sought a court order preventing Tucker's team from releasing additional messages, arguing further releases would include sensitive or confidential matters that could cause irreparable harm. Private discussions between Tracy and Alvarado "involve highly sensitive information regarding other survivors and their families," Tracy wrote in an affidavit filed with the motion for the restraining order.
Less than a month after that agreement, Tucker and his attorneys asked the judge to dismiss the case altogether.
veryGood! (6)
Related
- Small twin
- NFL power rankings: Super Bowl champion Chiefs, quarterback issues invite offseason shake-up
- Microsoft says US rivals are beginning to use generative AI in offensive cyber operations
- Social Security 2025 COLA seen falling, leaving seniors struggling and paying more tax
- Trump issues order to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military
- Kelsea Ballerini Reveals Her and Chase Stokes’ Unexpected Valentine’s Day Plans
- Dakota Johnson's Trainer Megan Roup Wants You to Work Out Less
- Virginia Senate approves bill to allow DACA recipients to become police officers
- Juan Soto praise of Mets' future a tough sight for Yankees, but World Series goal remains
- Watch extended cut of Ben Affleck's popular Dunkin' Super Bowl commercial
Ranking
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Dating habits are changing — again. Here are 3 trends and tips for navigating them
- Katy Perry reveals she is leaving American Idol after upcoming season
- Robert Plant & Alison Krauss announce co-headlining tour: Here's how to get tickets
- Highlights from Trump’s interview with Time magazine
- Sweetpea, the tiny pup who stole the show in Puppy Bowl 2024, passed away from kidney illness
- Inflation dipped in January, CPI report shows. But not as much as hoped.
- Natalee Holloway Murderer Joran van der Sloot's Violent Crimes Explored in Chilling Doc
Recommendation
San Francisco names street for Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic Iwo Jima photo
Lawmakers honor House clerk who served during chaos of Jan. 6 and McCarthy speaker votes
Pac-12 Conference countersues Holiday Bowl amid swirling changes
Greek lawmakers are debating a landmark bill to legalize same-sex marriage. Here’s what it means
Residents worried after ceiling cracks appear following reroofing works at Jalan Tenaga HDB blocks
Drake places $1.15 million Super Bowl bet on the Chiefs to win
Travis Kelce Admits He “Crossed a Line” During Tense Moment With Andy Reid at Super Bowl 2024
Nebraska GOP bills target college professor tenure and diversity, equity and inclusion