Current:Home > MarketsLarry Nassar survivor says Michigan State’s latest mess shows it hasn’t learned from past -ProsperityStream Academy
Larry Nassar survivor says Michigan State’s latest mess shows it hasn’t learned from past
View
Date:2025-04-19 03:49:29
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan State missed an opportunity to provide some clarity about who was aware of sexual harassment allegations against Mel Tucker and what school leaders knew about them when its athletic director and interim president announced the football coach was being suspended without pay.
It was just the latest misstep in a long line of them.
The institution has stumbled from scandal to scandal in recent years, none bigger or more devastating than the one it enabled with disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar. After a female Michigan State graduate filed a complaint about Nassar’s abuse in 2014, a school investigation found he didn’t violate school policy.
Nassar went on to shatter more lives and it cost the school priceless damage to its reputation along with more than $500 million, including a $4.5 million fine from the Education Department for failing to adequately respond to sexual assault complaints.
And now, Michigan State has another mess.
“It’s a repeat of 2014,” Rachael Denhollander, the first woman to publicly identify herself as a victim of Nassar, said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “One of the biggest questions back then was what did the school president and board know.”
Brenda Tracy, an activist and rape survivor, alleged Tucker sexually harassed her during a phone call in April 2022. Tracy filed a complaint with the school’s Title IX office eight months later and that is when athletic director Alan Haller was informed an allegation sexual misconduct had been made against Tucker, school spokeswoman Emily Guerrant said Tuesday.
While the investigation into the allegations was completed July 25, Michigan State interim President Teresa Woodruff and the school’s board of trustees did not know the details until Sunday, when USA Today published its report, Guerrant said.
“They’re either lying or grossly ignorant,” Denhollander told the AP. “They’re using victim protection to cover their own ignorance and that’s nonsense.”
Johanna Kononen, the law and policy director with the Michigan Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence, said Michigan State’s Title IX procedures are confidential and the only people privy to information in the report and investigation are the parties themselves, their advisers and the finder of fact.
Still, Kononen said the process is not completely confidential.
“It seems unlikely, in a case involving such a prominent respondent, that university officials were not aware of the allegations against coach Tucker for the last 10 months,” she told the AP. “This defensive posture is disappointing where MSU is very aware of its historical failure to prioritize and protect its community from sexual impropriety.”
The 51-year-old Tucker, who is married and has two children, said the allegations against him are “completely false” and the intimate phone call he had with Tracy was consensual and outside the scope of both Title IX and school policy.
Tracy’s attorney, Karen Truszkowski, said her client’s identity was disclosed by an outside party, leading to the USA Today report that exposed explicit details of the investigation.
“Brenda Tracy had no intention of publicly disclosing her identity,” Truszkowski said Tuesday. “She was and continues to be committed to complying with and concluding the MSU internal investigative process.”
Guerrant said the university wanted to ensure a fair and comprehensive process and create a safe environment for individuals to come forward without a fear of institutional retaliation or breach of privacy.
“We are dismayed to learn the confidentiality was broken in this case,” she said.
A hearing is scheduled for the week of Oct. 5 determine if Tucker violated the school’s sexual harassment and exploitation policy.
Tucker is in the third year of a $95 million, 10-year contract and if he is fired for cause, the school would not have to pay him what’s remaining on his deal. Michigan State may fire Tucker for cause if he “engages in any conduct which constitutes moral turpitude or which, in the University’s sole judgement, would tend to bring public disrespect, contempt or ridicule upon the university,” according to his contract.
Officially, the school said “unprofessional behavior and not living up to the core values of the department and university,” was the reason Tucker was suspended.
Tracy is known for her work with college teams, educating athletes about sexual violence. Michigan State paid her $10,000 to share her story with the football team.
“By any metric, even if it was consensual, what he did was a violation of the school’s ethics policy because he initiated sexual relations with a contracted employee,” Denhollander said. “When he admitted that in March, he could have been immediately fired if the proper processes were in place at Michigan State and if the board was trained — or if they cared about this.”
___
Follow Larry Lage at https://twitter.com/larrylage
___
AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll
veryGood! (8342)
Related
- Paige Bueckers vs. Hannah Hidalgo highlights women's basketball games to watch
- Zooey Deschanel Shares the 1 Gift She'd Give Her Elf Character
- Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul date, time: How to buy Netflix boxing event at AT&T Stadium
- Fantasy football waiver wire: 10 players to add for NFL Week 10
- Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
- Massachusetts voters weigh ballot issues on union rights, wages and psychedelics
- New Hampshire’s governor’s race pits ex-Sen. Kelly Ayotte against ex-Mayor Joyce Craig
- GOP Rep. Andy Ogles faces a Tennessee reelection test as the FBI probes his campaign finances
- Tom Holland's New Venture Revealed
- Central Michigan voters are deciding 2 open congressional seats in the fight for the US House
Ranking
- South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
- Ruby slippers from ‘The Wizard of Oz’ are for sale nearly 2 decades after they were stolen
- GOP Gov. Jim Justice battles Democrat Glenn Elliott for US Senate seat from West Virginia
- Selena Gomez, Mariska Hargitay and More Stars Who’ve Voted in 2024 U.S. Presidential Election
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- RHOBH's Teddi Mellencamp Shares Emotional Divorce Update in First Podcast Since Edwin Arroyave Split
- Competitive Virginia races could play a critical role in the battle for Congress
- Baltimore mayor Brandon Scott speaks of 'transformative' impact of sports
Recommendation
'We're reborn!' Gazans express joy at returning home to north
Jason Kelce apologizes for role in incident involving heckler's homophobic slur
US Rep. John Curtis is favored to win Mitt Romney’s open Senate seat in Utah
A Quaker who helps migrants says US presidential election will make no difference at the border
Chuck Scarborough signs off: Hoda Kotb, Al Roker tribute legendary New York anchor
Arizona voters to decide on expanding abortion access months after facing a potential near-total ban
Mississippi Republican Sen. Roger Wicker is challenged by Democrat Ty Pinkins
Two Democratic leaders seek reelection in competitive races in New Mexico