#TuckLeavin

[Matt]

If MSU had the same information they have today in December 2022, March, and July, it is hard to justify firing for cause NOW. #asthetugcranks

Actually, it's pretty easy to justify. Everything kicked up once the USA Today article was published and it all became public. MSU has been through the proverbial ringer since the article. That triggered the firing. Rightly or wrongly, before then silence was golden. Even if Haller knew all of the details - he wasn't free to share it to enough people to make a firing decision. Once the cover was blown, all bets were off.

I'd argue though that the timing of all this is irrelevant.

Had all of this remained private through Oct 6, that USA Today article was still going to be published. Had MSU kept Tugger as coach after that hearing ... the blowback / humiliation / etc. heaped on the University would have been even worse than it's already been. Had they fired him ... all of this still would have happened.

MSU has been acting very deliberately and cautiously at the advice of legal counsel. Haller couldn't make this decision, even though it's his name on the "you're fired" document. This was all done as billable hours ... and all of that takes time to be done the right way. They want out of paying him $77 million dollars.

Bullshit - they say on this until they couldn't. If this didn't come out AND he beat Washington, they would have made it go away. When this issue became available, it became State's get out of contract jail card. #asthetugcranks

[Robert Faygo]

Nah. Washington game was irrelevant.

Tracy already had made her plans to either get paid or get him fired. Or both.

#TuckLeavin was going to happen. It's just how much it costs, who's paying, and when.

[Robert Faygo]

If you believe / trust the 97.1 afternoon Spartan blowhard, the signs were there that Tugger had already essentially checked out from his responsibilities long before the article was published. Even he knew it was coming.

[MWmetalhead]

The public shame brought upon the university is certainly a reason that Tucker can be fired with cause.

That said, I agree with your general premise, Matt, that the university's handling of this matter greatly contributed to the backlash it is now receiving, and it wouldn't surprise me if they had been hoping this matter would go away quietly in exchange for a monetary settlement and NDA with the accuser.

[MWmetalhead]

I haven't paid any attention to this story until reading the most recent link Matt just posted. Setting aside whether the call was consensual or not and setting aside whether Tucker's actions violated MSU policy or not, who in their right mind - especially somebody in a position such as Mel's - decides that it is a good idea to have phone sex with someone whose profession is that of "sexual awareness speaker"? That just seems like an incredibly stupid decision.

100% agreed.

[moldyoldie]

I dunno, but after reading everything that's out there, I'm sensing that Tucker is being railroaded by a scorned woman. It's an ugly situation, to be sure. Very bad judgement on Tucker's part, but he'll walk away with a hefty settlement when all is said and done. We'll see.

[km1125]

I dunno, but after reading everything that's out there, I'm sensing that Tucker is being railroaded by a scorned woman. It's an ugly situation, to be sure. Very bad judgement on Tucker's part, but he'll walk away with a hefty settlement when all is said and done. We'll see.

Can you imagine someone with the tenacity of, say Feiger, motivated by "you get 50% of the take" when $77mm is on the table?

[moldyoldie]

I dunno, but after reading everything that's out there, I'm sensing that Tucker is being railroaded by a scorned woman. It's an ugly situation, to be sure. Very bad judgement on Tucker's part, but he'll walk away with a hefty settlement when all is said and done. We'll see.

Can you imagine someone with the tenacity of, say Feiger, motivated by "you get 50% of the take" when $77mm is on the table?

A lot will depend on a judge or jury's interpretation of "moral turpitude" as spelled out in the contract. My guess is a settlement to make it "go away".

[TC Talks]

I dunno, but after reading everything that's out there, I'm sensing that Tucker is being railroaded by a scorned woman. It's an ugly situation, to be sure. Very bad judgement on Tucker's part, but he'll walk away with a hefty settlement when all is said and done. We'll see.

Can you imagine someone with the tenacity of, say Feiger, motivated by "you get 50% of the take" when $77mm is on the table?

A lot will depend on a judge or jury's interpretation of "moral turpitude" as spelled out in the contract. My guess is a settlement to make it "go away".

MSU isn't going to offer him very much to settle. This is a pretty clearly winnable case for the University.

[MasterB]

Jeff Feiger is Mel's lawyer? I hope Feiger loses the case, it gets settled as MSU wants it to go away.

[Honeyman]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/inv ... 922038007/

[Honeyman]

Spartans won't win another game. This team is beyond awful.

[MWmetalhead]

MSU has both Nebraska and Minnesota on its schedule; those are winnable games. Indiana is very winnable; it took OT for them to beat the friggin' Akron Zips. MSU is a better team than Indiana all day long. Iowa might be a lot crappier than everyone was thinking, too. They just lost 31 - 0 to Penn State.

Indiana is clearly the worst team in the conference based on performance to date.

I will say the underperformance on the field at MSU is likely fueled in part by the psychological impact of what's happened with the program in recent weeks.

[SD45]

Minnesota is terrible. That game against Nebraska was brutal, and their other win is Eastern Michigan.

They just lost to Northwestern in OT. Minnesota was up 31-10 and gave up 21 points in the 4th quarter.

MSU can win 3 conference games this season.

[MWmetalhead]

Yikes; I knew Minnesota was bad but was unaware they blew a 21 point lead against lowly Northwestern in the 4th quarter.