EAST LANSING, Mich. — In late December, shortly after Michigan State University learned its head football coach was under investigation for sexual harassment, the athletic department put oversight measures in place for Mel Tucker while he continued his job.
But nearly nine months following the complaint and more than 48 hours since the details of that sexual harassment report were made public in a USA TODAY story, little is known about what those measures were. Or how the university expected them to prevent Tucker from possibly harassing others.
Athletic Director Alan Haller referenced in a news conference Sunday interim measures that he said had been in place for months and were being updated to include Tucker's suspension without pay. Haller pointed to a no contact order with the complainant — revealed in the USA TODAY story to be Brenda Tracy, a prominent national advocate for abuse survivors — and his own increased oversight of Tucker and the football program. The specifics ended there.
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Those are the extent of the interim measures, Dan Olsen, a spokesperson for the university, confirmed to the State Journal on Tuesday. He added that he could not provide additional details on what the added oversight by Haller was, citing the ongoing investigation.
A message was left seeking comment from Matt Larson, a spokesperson for the athletic department, on the specifics on the interim measures and how the added oversight by Haller differed from regular oversight Haller has on all university athletic programs and coaches.
A message seeking comment and information about the added oversight was also left with Jennifer Belveal, Tucker's attorney. On Monday, Belveal released a statement on Tucker's behalf in which he denied sexually harassing Tracy.
Oversight measures like those in place for Tucker have been used before with investigating and adjudicating sexual assault and harassment at MSU.
In 2014, following a university police and Title IX investigation of then-famed sports doctor Larry Nassar, he and the then-dean of the medical school met and "agreed" on three protocols for Nassar's return to clinical work. Those protocols included having another person in the room during procedures of "anything close to a sensitive area" and modifying procedures to have "little to no" skin-to-skin contact, according to records.
At the time, the dean was William Strampel, who was later sentenced to a year in jail following a felony conviction for using his position to proposition and control female medical students.
Strampel only told one other person about the protocols. When the university fired Nassar in 2016, following an Indianapolis Star story that detailed sexual assault claims against him, the school discovered Nassar had not been following those protocols.
The investigation in Tucker's behavior remains ongoing.
In July, an outside attorney hired by the school completed the preliminary investigation and submitted a report to the university.
A hearing is scheduled for early October, when another outside attorney hired by the university will decide whether it’s likely that Tucker violated university policy. An official sanction or punishment could then follow that determination.