MSU trustee wants investigation into who leaked Brenda Tracy's name in Tucker inquiry

EAST LANSING — Michigan State University Trustee Dianne Byrum is calling for the school to investigate how the name of the woman who filed a sexual harassment complaint against suspended football coach Mel Tucker leaked to reporters.

“I am disturbed and outraged by recent reports indicating the name of a claimant in a sexual harassment investigation was intentionally released in an apparent effort to retaliate against her. We should unequivocally condemn attempts to silence or retaliate against victims," Bryum, who was a trustee during the Larry Nassar scandal, said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. She is also a former chairperson of the board.

"I call on Michigan State University to thoroughly investigate these troubling allegations and hold anyone who is found to have leaked or released the claimant’s name accountable. We need to do everything in our power to ensure victims of sexual assault and abuse can come forward without fear or intimidation and have full confidence their identities and private information will be kept confidential.

"In the past MSU has not been as transparent as it should’ve been during times of crisis, and we need to learn from these painful experiences and improve if we are going to regain the trust of our Spartan Community and move forward.”

Dan Olsen, a spokesperson for the university, declined to comment.

A message seeking comment was left to Byrum.

Brenda Tracy, a prominent national advocate for sexual assaults survivors, filed her complaint against Tucker in late December.

She has said she did not intend to make her case public before an October hearing at MSU. In a statement, her attorney said an "outside source" leaked Tracy's identity, leading to USA TODAY's investigative report that detailed allegations against Tucker. After the story was published, Tucker was suspended by the school without pay. He has denied sexually harassing Tracy, saying they had a consensual intimate relationship.

Related MSU won't reveal oversight measures put in place for Mel Tucker after sexual harassment report

In a statement on Tuesday evening, Tracy said she also shared documents and her story with USA Today in case someone at the university leaked her name.

"I did not want to publish my story in the early morning hours last weekend, but I had no choice because someone outed me to the media. I am angry that my right to confidentiality has been violated and I hope that those responsible are held accountable," she wrote.

"It is unacceptable that survivors must endure continued violations of our agency and autonomy in an attempt to seek justice and accountability for the harm done to us."

In January, the trustees voted to elect Rema Vassar as the board's chairperson. Byrum had held that position since 2019, but decided against seeking re-election to the role. Byrum's term ends on Jan. 1, 2025. Vassar was elected in 2020 and her term ends Jan. 1, 2027.

Related Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker accused of sexually harassing rape survivor

Byrum is among the longest tenured trustees on the university board.

She was first elected in 2008 and was part of university leadership during some of the school's darkest days, including the years-long Nassar scandal and criminal cases. Byrum and the rest of the board have been widely criticized for the way they handled events leading up to and after Nassar was exposed, the way they treated abuse survivors and broader sexual assault issues on campus.

In 2019, following Nassar's state and federal sentences, and the school's $500 million settlement with hundreds of his victims, several survivors worked with trustees on a plan for an independent investigation into how Nassar's abuse was allowed to happen.

The group of survivors included Rachael Denhollander, the first woman to publicly say that Nassar abused her, and survivors Sarah Klein and Sterling Riethman.

In June of 2019, the board said it was negotiating with a law firm to conduct that investigation and to make it public.

But three months later, in September of 2019, Byrum said the board couldn't decide on the scope of the investigation and it was never conducted.

Byrum has also voted against the release of more than 6,000 documents related to Nassar that the Michigan Attorney General's Office has sought for its investigation of how MSU handled the case and reports against Nassar. The school has consistently denied the release of those records, citing  attorney-client privilege.

Related MSU president Teresa Woodruff: I and the board didn't know details of Tucker complaint until Sunday

Since late Sunday, MSU officials have said that few at the school knew Tracy's identity, which aligned with school policy.

Teresa Woodruff, the interim university president, told the State Journal on Monday that she knew about the report in late December, shortly after it was filed, but didn't learn Tracy was the complainant until July, after the preliminary investigative report was submitted to the university.

Woodruff and two university spokespeople have also said that the board knew of the report in late December, but were not given Tracy's name. The Office of the General Counsel told Woodruff that Tracy was the complainant while briefing her in July on a number of legal matters facing the university, Woodruff said.

She added that she didn't learn the nature of the complaint or details in the preliminary investigative report until she read them in the USA Today story on Sunday.

The investigation into Tucker's behavior remains ongoing.

A hearing is scheduled for early October, when an outside attorney hired by the university will decide whether Tucker violated university policy. An official sanction or punishment could then follow that determination.

Related Couch: Focus shifts to timing of Mel Tucker suspension and an MSU football team in transition

Contact reporter Matt Mencarini at 517-377-1026 or mjmencarini@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattMencarini.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: MSU trustee wants investigation into who leaked Brenda Tracy's name in Tucker inquiry