Sexual Assault Survivor Advocate Brenda Tracy filed a federal lawsuit against the Michigan State Board and two separate board members on June 3, alleging that she and her livelihood were bothered by mistreating sexual harassment complaints against former head football coach Mel Tucker.
Her 51-page lawsuit accused officials of violating their legal and ethical obligations in order to keep Tracy’s identity secret through a university’s investigation into a December 2022 sexual harassment complaint. Councillors’ Council Lema Vassar and Dennis Deno likely leaked her name to news outlets and other people during the investigation. Michigan officials Vassar and Deno did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The lawsuit says university officials violated their duty of care by tackling the harassment Tracy suffered after he finally published her story by failing to deal with the onslaught of threat. Additionally, the lawsuit states that board members should have known or should have known Tucker’s actions inappropriately with other women and presented threats to Tracy and the campus community.
The lawsuit seeks seven counts of unspecified and punitive damages, including breach of contract, misconduct in duties, gross negligence and violation of Tracy’s due process rights. She says that as a result, she incurred additional costs for psychological and mental distress, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of income, and medical and medical treatment.
“It took me a long time to get here, but I’ve gone through a lot, and at some point I want to move on with my life,” Tracy told USA Today. “I think this is an important step in doing that. I want people who harmed me to be accountable, but it’s more than just Mel Tucker.”
The lawsuit is one of several filed in connection with the sexual misconduct scandal, leading to the firing of one of the nation’s highest-paid coaches. In October, Tracy sued Tucker in state court, claiming that she slandered her by claiming she had developed a mutual romance.
Tucker, who claims he and Tracy had a consensual sexual relationship, sued Michigan in August 2024 for illegal dismissal and honourable losses. The school fired him a few weeks after the scandal was released in September 2023, canceling about $80 million on a record 10-year contract signed two years ago.
The Crux of Tracy sexual harassment allegations were on an April 2022 call between her and Tucker, who says she masturbated without consent. The call comes eight months after Tucker hired Tracy, an established gang rape survivor and educator, to tell his players about preventing sexual violence.
Tracy said that Tucker has made a series of unwanted sexual advances over the course of her year-long business relationship, culminating in an April 2022 call. Tucker says they have a flirty relationship and Tracy told him he was looking for “sugar daddy” and during the April 2022 call they engaged in one example of mutual telephone sex.
The Michigan Title IX office completed an investigation into Tracy’s complaints in October 2023, finding Tucker who exploited Tracy’s sexual harassment and exploitation over and over before, during, April 2022 calls. In January 2024, the university denied the appeal against Tucker’s findings.
