Eric Boggs 
MelTuckerTrial
By Eric Boggs from The OHIO Podcast
A judge has dismissed a lawsuit against former Michigan State University football coach Mel Tucker, brought by Brenda Tracy, a sexual assault survivor and educator. Tracy accused Tucker of sexually harassing her during a phone call in 2022. Michigan State fired Tucker last September after these allegations became public.
The lawsuit was related to text messages released by Tucker’s lawyers during a Title IX investigation. Tracy’s businesses claimed these texts could damage her nonprofit, which focuses on sexual violence prevention.
In the lawsuit, Tracy and two other women argued that the messages between Tracy and Ahlan Alvarado, a former case manager at Tracy’s nonprofit who passed away in July 2023, contained confidential information about clients and survivors of sexual assault. Tracy’s team also said some of the messages might include protected medical information.
In October, a judge issued an emergency order to stop Tucker’s lawyers from making more messages public. Both parties later agreed on conditions to limit further releases. Despite this, Tucker was found to have violated MSU’s sexual misconduct policy regarding his conduct with Tracy.
On Thursday, an Ingham County Circuit Court judge ruled to dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled. Tucker’s attorney, Andrew Abood, stated that the court made the correct decision based on the merits of the case.
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