EAST LANSING, Mich. – A new report is looking into whether Michigan State University leaked the name of former coach Mel Tucker’s accuser.
Michigan State University hired the prominent national law firm Jones Day to come in and try to find who leaked Brenda Tracy’s name.
Tracy said she went public with her sexual harassment allegations against the former coach because someone at MSU had leaked her story and name, but the report said there’s no evidence of that.
The report said Tracy had spoken with ESPN herself two months before the story went public. The report also alleges none of the MSU Board of Trustees knew Tracy’s name before it was published in USA Today.
“In sum, investigators, utilizing a preponderance of the evidence standard, have been unable to identify any Trustee, administrator, or employee of MSU who made an unauthorized disclosure of confidential information that led to the media’s awareness of the [Office of Institutional Equity] Investigation or the complainant’s identity.”
Excerpt from Jones Day's report
Tracy, an advocate for sexual assault survivors, was brought to MSU by Tucker to address the team. She said their professional relationship devolved into Tucker sexually harassing her -- something an outside investigator MSU hired found to be true.
Tracy’s attorney said she only went public with her accusations after her name was leaked by the university, but the Jones Day report found no evidence of that.
Tucker was fired shortly after Tracy’s claims were made public with the university citing “moral turpitude” as the reason.
You can read the full report from Jones Day below.