Attorney: Michigan State has no cause to fire coach
Mel Tucker's attorney said Monday that Michigan State does not have cause to fire its suspended football coach because
Tucker did not “engage in unprofessional or unethical behav- ior” when he had phone sex with an activist and rape survivor who the university paid to speak to his team.
Brenda Tracy, the activist and survivor, said Tucker sexually harassed her during the phone call in April 2022. Several months later, Tracy filed a complaint with the school's Title IX office.
Tucker has acknowledged having phone sex with her but said it was consensual.
Michigan State's investigation was completed in July and the university informed Tucker last week it planned to fire him for misconduct.
Attorney Jennifer Belveal denied in a statement that Tucker's actions were acts of moral turpitude — “by any stretch of the imagination” — at the university that operates in the shadow of Larry Nassar's abuse of more than 100 athletes.
Belveal said the school previously knew Tucker acknowledged during the investigation in March that he had phone sex with Tracy.
“The notice, which is entirely premised on information you knew at least seven months ago, if not earlier, now affirms Tucker's belief that the investigation was never interested in the truth,” she wrote.
Belveal also cited Tucker's “serious medical condition” in stating that the embattled coach reserves his right to fully respond to the university's planned firing when he's medically cleared.
Tucker asked for a medical leave for “a serious health condition” while he was suspended and the school denied the request, saying it was “unnecessary,” according to his attorney.
“The fast track to termination following Tucker's assertion of rights under the FMLA is retaliatory,” she wrote.
The school told Tucker he would be fired for cause and without compensation for misconduct with Tracy, who it considers a vendor because she was once paid to speak with the team, and gave him seven days to respond.
Michigan State spokeswoman Emily Guerrant said Monday the school will review Tucker's response.
Tucker signed a $95 million, 10-year contract in November 2021. If the school gets its way, he will lose about $80 million he was due to make through Jan. 15, 2032.
Payton tries to pick up pieces of 70-20 rout
Ownership was counting on Sean Payton making Broncos fans forget all about Nathaniel Hackett's miserable 2022 season in Denver. Only, not like this. Scowls and scolds have replaced the hugs and handshakes, but some of the bigger embarrassments remain such as the penchant for penalties, the burned timeouts and the troublesome turnovers.
September isn't over and Payton's already scrambling to salvage the season following the Broncos' breathtaking 50-point loss at Miami, where only the mercy of Mike McDaniel kept Denver's
debacle simply horrific and not also historic.
Rather than tack on a short field goal in the final minute, McDaniel had his backup QB take a knee on fourth-and-14 at the Denver 27, bypassing the chance to break the regular-season record for points scored in a single game set by Washington against the New York Giants in 1966 and tie the alltime record set by the Chicago Bears in their 73-0 wipeout of Washington in the 1940 NFL championship game.
Still, it was Denver's biggest loss in its history and the 50-point margin of defeat represented the combined scoring differential for Denver's first nine losses under Hackett.
“You take a butt-whipping like that, you find out a lot about everyone,” Payton said Monday after stressing that nobody's job was in jeopardy because of the 70-20 drubbing.
“It's a tough film to watch. I debated about whether we were going to show it or not, but I think we'd be remiss if we didn't.
“We've got to sit in here today and as unpleasant as it's going to be, we've got to get these things cleaned up.”
The man who famously mocked his predecessor for last season overseeing what “might have been one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL,” found himself picking through the debris Monday of one of the worst performances the league has ever seen.
The Broncos allowed 726 yards, giving up 350 yards and five touchdowns on the ground and 376 yards and five touchdowns through the air. No defense in NFL history had ever put up that dubious double.
• The Pittsburgh Steelers' charter flight home following a Sunday night win in Las Vegas made an emergency landing in Kansas City early Monday.
Team spokesman Burt Lauten posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that “everyone on the plane is safe and we are making necessary plans to arrive back in Pittsburgh later today.”
KDKA-TV reported the plane landed in Kansas City just before 5 a.m. EDT. The station reported the plane was dealing with an oil pressure failure in one of the engines.
• Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is in concussion protocol, putting his status in question for when Las Vegas visits the Chargers on Sunday. Garoppolo was injured in Sunday night's 23-18 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Coach Josh McDaniels said Monday that he didn't know when the injury occurred, but Garoppolo took several hits in getting sacked four times and his head bounced off the turf on one play.
Galaxy rally for draw with Austin FC
Dejan Joveljic scored in the 89th minute, Michael Barrios' first goal with the Galaxy came in stoppage time they rallied for a 3-3 draw with host Austin FC on Sunday night in a match that started three hours late because of a thunderstorm.
Austin FC (9-13-8) snapped a club-record fourmatch losing streak at home in all competitions and ends a three-match skid against the Galaxy with the tie. L.A. (8-11-10) was trying to become the first team to beat Austin four times in a row, but will have to settle for a 4-1-1 record in the last six.