5 days ago
Brenda Tracy sues Michigan State's board of trustees, alleges breach of duty in Mel Tucker case
Brenda Tracy — a rape survivor and activist who accused former Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker of sexual harassment — is suing Michigan State's board of trustees, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.
In the suit, Tracy alleges MSU's board of trustees and two board members individually named as defendants — Rema Vassar and Dennis Denno — 'breached their duty of care' by disclosing Tracy's identity to 'outside parties,' and by failing to address harassment and threats targeted at Tracy after she accused Tucker of sexual misconduct in 2022.
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Included among Tracy's specific claims against the board are a breach of statutory duty, a breach of the board's code of ethics and conduct, a breach of contract, tortious interference with a contract and gross negligence, among other claims against Vassar and Denno.
'Those are publicly elected officials that are held to a very high standard. … The fact that I believe they have something to do or were involved with a leak of my name is not OK,' Tracy said Tuesday.
Tracy's attorney, Karen Truszkowski, declined to comment.
Michigan State said Tuesday the university 'does not comment on pending litigation.' Vassar and Denno did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Tuesday's filing is the latest in a multi-pronged legal saga involving Tracy, Tucker and Michigan State leadership. Tracy sued Tucker in October 2024 for defamation and other claims related to the alleged sexual harassment. Tucker sued Michigan State last summer, alleging wrongful termination.
The school fired Tucker for cause in September 2023 after a USA Today story publicly revealed the allegations Tracy made against Tucker; she alleged Tucker made sexual comments and masturbated without her consent while on a phone call with her in April 2022 after they developed a professional relationship. Tracy filed a complaint against Tucker with MSU's Title IX office in December 2022 and the office hired an outside attorney to complete an investigation.
In the wake of the allegations becoming public, Michigan State suspended Tucker without pay. He denied Tracy's allegations in a statement at the time, saying the April 2022 phone conversation was 'entirely mutual.'
In addition to detailing Tracy's allegations against Tucker, the 51-page lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges MSU's board of trustees 'breached (its) duty to keep (Tracy's) identity confidential by sharing details of the RVSM [Relationship Violence & Sexual Misconduct] investigation with outside parties' without Tracy's knowledge or consent, and that the 'individual defendants knew or should have known that Tucker posed a potential threat to the MSU community at large, and to (Tracy) specifically.'
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The suit also alleges that 'MSU, through their agent Tucker, tortiously interfered with and breached the contract by abruptly canceling' a scheduled appearance Tracy had with MSU's football team on July 22, 2023, and that as a result, Tracy 'has actual damages of $10,000 and consequential damages from the loss of prospective MSU appearances, as well as appearances at other colleges and universities.'
Additionally, the suit alleges Tracy's 'hand was forced' regarding telling USA Today to proceed with its story after her identity circulated among local and national media outlets, and that Tracy was 'falsely accused of leaking her own name, exposing her and her family to heightened threats of violence.'
In September 2023, Tracy said in a letter released through Truszkowski that she did not intend to disclose her identity publicly during the investigation and only agreed to allow USA Today to run its story after her name leaked to local media.
'I deserved to be able to go through that investigation and that process without being outed,' Tracy said Tuesday. 'That should've never happened.'
The suit also alleges that in the wake of Tucker's firing, Tracy and her non-profit, Set The Expectation, 'received hundreds of hateful and threatening messages' across social media platforms and that the 'defendants have also done nothing to address the harassment, and indeed [the] defendant's nonfeasance continues to escalate the harassment.'
Tracy said Tuesday that she has been unemployed since her name became public, and the board of her non-profit recently voted to dissolve the entity.
Per the lawsuit, Tracy is seeking compensatory damages for psychological and emotional distress, as well as punitive damages and injunctive relief requiring the board to take steps to prevent and investigate sexual harassment and mitigate its effects.
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She said she thinks Michigan State owes her an apology.
'I think as I go through this process, I do need to figure out what accountability for me looks like,' Tracy said. 'But if we're speaking in terms of money, I do believe that I should be compensated for the harm that's been done to me, and I don't think that I'm wrong for wanting that or seeking that as well as other accountability.'
— Matt Baker and Lindsay Schnell contributed to this report.
(Photo of Brenda Tracy: Matthew Dae Smith / Lansing State Journal via USA Today)
