MSU Trustee calls for investigation into name leak
Dianne Byrum, one of MSUs trustees, made a statement calling for the university to investigate and identify who leaked Brenda Tracy's name. Gretchen Whitmer tweeted about "wanting answers as well."
I hope they get all the facts soon and hold folks accountable.
September 13th, 2023 at 6:45 PM ^
Allegedly, only 4 members of the BoT and the Title IX Office knew about the complaint and complainant. One would imagine that the Title IX Office folks, who lived by these rules and kept the investigation secret in the first place, didn’t leak it. That leaves someone on the BoT. Byrum most likely knows which of her colleagues did this and wants them held accountable. This could get juicy…
September 13th, 2023 at 6:52 PM ^
Four members of the BoT knew who the complainant was? That contradicts what they've been saying.
September 13th, 2023 at 7:13 PM ^
I don’t recall where now, but I read something earlier today that Woodruff, Haller and members of the BoT were given greater details after the initial investigation/report was completed in July. That may have been incorrect, but it seems odd they would inform members of the administration without actually informing anyone on the BoT, given that the BoT is legally “in charge.”
September 13th, 2023 at 8:40 PM ^
It's also possible that it was leaked by someone close to Brenda Tracy. Perhaps she was betrayed by a confidant or something.
September 13th, 2023 at 9:48 PM ^
I took it as she went to the press herself. She gave USA Today a ton of documents to substantiate her side of the story.
September 13th, 2023 at 11:00 PM ^
From the statement her lawyer put out she didn’t originate the leak, I’m sure USA Today called her for comment though and then she probably gave them what she had.
September 14th, 2023 at 9:50 PM ^
Actually, she was the original "leaker." Per USA Today:
Brenda Tracy informed a USA TODAY reporter about the case in May 2023. Tracy had known the reporter since 2017 from his previous coverage of sexual misconduct in sports and disclosed details of the case confidentially.
A secondary leak appears to have occurred in September.
In early September, USA TODAY Network reporters in Michigan heard Tracy’s name and specific details about the case mentioned in connection with the rumors. They shared the information to USA TODAY without identifying their sources, and USA TODAY relayed the information to Tracy.
September 13th, 2023 at 6:45 PM ^
Somebody connected to the athletic department.
Looking back Ishbia ending the NIL partnership with MSU might be an indicator of foreknowledge of what was in the report.
September 13th, 2023 at 6:47 PM ^
Dude noped outta that situation asap
September 13th, 2023 at 7:11 PM ^
Ishbia is going to be my favorite Sparty to fall at some point.
September 13th, 2023 at 8:05 PM ^
Yeah, I just don't care for the guy. I'm not a Dan Gilbert guy either, but at least he has played a role in Detroit's revitalization. Ishbia turned a lot of folks off to him when he decided to build a gigantic house in Bloomfield Township. I don't know who needs a 63,000 square foot home, except him. Must be an explosive flatulence situation.
September 13th, 2023 at 8:30 PM ^
Likewise not a huge Gilbert fan, but a few of my wife's childhood friends, who never left Macomb, work(ed) for UWM and the ones who quit have good reasons and the ones who are still there are the type of people who you would expect to stay there. They have shiny things to make it seem like they care and have a great culture, but those things are there to distract from the company being shit.
Back around the start of Covid Rocket had to do layoffs and they offered decent severance. Something like a few months and opportunities to move into different parts of the organization. Ishbia wrote some BS post about Gilbert abandoning Detroit and how UHM NEVER does layoffs even though they had been cutting jobs left and right for months and aren't a Detroit company in the first place. He's nauseating.
September 13th, 2023 at 8:31 PM ^
Must be an Ishbia family trait. His brother is building a 67,000 sq foot home in suburban Chicago for $43 million and it's been quite the spectacle. He bought off the park district in a land swap deal so that he could make his lot twice as big, but it used public land to do it. His wife actually stood up in a town hall meeting and lamented that the town was trying to take away her kids' "normal childhoods" by preventing them from joining the two properties. I don't care if people make a ton of dough but don't say stupid shit that makes you sound like the most tone deaf person in the state.
September 13th, 2023 at 8:50 PM ^
Not sure about the wife's naivety, but it's a pretty standard symbiotic real estate transaction.
September 13th, 2023 at 10:16 PM ^
I don't know all the details but there were people in the town who objected. It's one of the most affluent suburbs in Chicago, but apparently they didn't want him knocking down three houses to build a super mansion on the lake. The beaches are very valuable to the town and are used a lot for swimming and boating, so it's possible that had something to do with it. I haven't been following it but just read that he donated $3 mil to the park district for beach restoration.
September 14th, 2023 at 11:54 AM ^
Wife's statement at a public hearing:
Kristen Ishbia tearfully addressed village trustees ahead of their unanimous Dec. 6 vote in favor of consolidating three of her family's four lakefront properties on Sheridan Road.
"When we first bought property here in Winnetka in the summer of 2020, we thought that we would be able to send our son to kindergarten here. Unfortunately, as time passes by, we are unable to build our home," Ishbia said. "Our children are missing out on being able to attend school here, play in our yard, and make friends in the neighborhood. They are missing out on being able to live our dream of a quiet authentic suburban life."
I mean, I don't know what kind of "authentic suburban life" comes along with a $77 million estate, but talk about your head simultaneously being up in the clouds and deep in your ass.
That said, the land swap deal is controversial for a couple of reasons. First, Ishbia apparently wants to build a high wall separating his beach from that of the park district (no issue with the neighbor on the other side since they don't have a beach).
The other is that those in the community who are protesting the move are have filed a legal motion suggesting that the land swap is not up to the park district, but is within state jurisdiction.
In addition, some local residents have the following to say:
Residents are particularly fired up about mature trees that were chopped down to allow for construction, the removal of a lakeside bluff, and work trucks that barrel down local roads. Some people also worry that, should Ishbia ever tire of the town, he won’t be able to find a buyer for his massive home, leaving the property indefinitely vacant.
“This house will become the ‘Michael Jordan house’ of Winnetka in 30 years and will never be able to be resold,” a resident wrote on Nextdoor, referring to Jordan’s Highland Park mansion, which has been on the market for a decade.
As for Ishbia's philanthropic play to placate the local residents:
The billionaire currently constructing a $77.6 million lakefront mansion pledged Thursday to give $3 million to the community for upgrades to a neighboring beach, Crain’s reported.
“There are no strings attached,” Ishbia told the publication, even as he’s negotiating a contentious land swap with the Winnetka park district and village officials tighten their development regulations to potentially prevent approval for projects similar to the businessman’s.
All that said, should it be a simple land swap deal? Eh, I couldn't really care less what the uber-rich do with their time and money. It all seems like a waste of time and monument to vanity, but what do I know - my net worth is less than 1/1000 of Ishbia's.
September 13th, 2023 at 9:16 PM ^
That speech by his wife is one of the most Marie Antoinette things I’ve ever seen.
September 13th, 2023 at 8:32 PM ^
A house with an indoor theater, pool, and basketball court would be great. Oh and an 1890’s style pub in the basement.
Everything else is just a waste of space.
September 13th, 2023 at 8:32 PM ^
I mean, you actually have a favorite Sparty?
September 14th, 2023 at 6:43 AM ^
I’ll counter. You don’t have a favorite Sparty screw up?? I’ll call you out on that
September 14th, 2023 at 5:41 PM ^
No, They're all equally pleasing.
September 14th, 2023 at 9:26 AM ^
Tin foil hat theory: The board of trustees were sitting on the info. They knew if they were timed it when they were 2-0, it would look like Tucker is being fired for cause and not because he’s a “horse-shit football coach”. If they waited until October, they’d likely have a couple of losses and Tucker would have a stronger argument to get paid out.
September 13th, 2023 at 6:47 PM ^
Well I heard MSU followed protocol to the letter, per the MSU spokesperson, so only Haller, Tucker, and the Office of Civil Rights knew who filed the complaint. That should narrow it down.
September 13th, 2023 at 6:51 PM ^
What if the leaker was........Brenda Tracy
September 13th, 2023 at 6:52 PM ^
What if it was Mel Tucker?
September 13th, 2023 at 6:56 PM ^
He is stupid but not that stupid.
September 13th, 2023 at 7:02 PM ^
Are you sure? I have my doubts.
September 13th, 2023 at 9:45 PM ^
I’ve been debating this myself - and it has led me to the conclusion that no one is THAT stupid, so there has to be more to this whole story…
September 13th, 2023 at 10:07 PM ^
I think we should all put our heads together and start mass-debating over this topic till we come to a happy ending.
/I will show myself out
September 13th, 2023 at 7:00 PM ^
What if Brenda and Mel are in cahoots and this is all a Trading Places-style scheme to plunder MSU and run away together on a tropical island?
September 13th, 2023 at 7:16 PM ^
Reminds me of the old classic thriller movie Malice, with Alec Baldwin, Nicole Kidman, and Bill Pullman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzpqLRb2lfs
”I am God”. This is worth the watch if you haven’t seen it.
September 13th, 2023 at 7:30 PM ^
That was a good movie. Worth a rewatch.
September 13th, 2023 at 10:07 PM ^
Agreed, excellent film!
September 13th, 2023 at 7:41 PM ^
I don't think Mel needed anyone's help plundering MSU.
Except Kenneth Walker III.
September 13th, 2023 at 10:55 PM ^
That sounds like Season 3 of White Lotus.....
September 14th, 2023 at 1:47 PM ^
Actually tho!
September 13th, 2023 at 7:04 PM ^
Apparently four people knew. And Andy Richter the Swedish German was one of them
September 14th, 2023 at 9:00 AM ^
Like all Norm MacDonald jokes I'm not quite sure if it was worth watching, but I liked how it ended.
September 13th, 2023 at 8:14 PM ^
He didn’t leak, he exploded.
September 14th, 2023 at 6:34 AM ^
Tuck Leaking?
September 14th, 2023 at 12:55 AM ^
Why go through the title IX process anonymously for the better part of a year and suddenly decide to leak it? If she wanted to bury Tucker publicly, she could have done that from the outset.
September 14th, 2023 at 6:34 AM ^
That's not how you blackmail someone. /s
September 13th, 2023 at 7:00 PM ^
This whole situation is now an epic chernobyl disaster clean up. The fall out from this will last for years.
September 13th, 2023 at 8:04 PM ^
As bad as this is, it's not on the same planet as Nassar. And other than the money side of things, they've done their best to sweep that under the rug. Once the new coach comes in, this will be an afterthought in less than a year. I mean Penn State somehow managed to come back from Sandusky in less than a couple of years. This is nothing like that or Nassar.
September 14th, 2023 at 9:23 AM ^
The difference is that it is the head football coach who has a $95 million contract.. The crimes were much much much more heinous in the other two cases, but no one knew who Nassar was and many still don't. The 87 Fiesta Bowl where PSU intercepted Vinny Testeverde 5 million times was one of the best defensive performances I have ever seen. Sandusky was a defensive genius, but I still didn't know who the heck he was until the scandal.
Furthermore, the sheer stupidity of it is an incredible story. Rich Rod is still coaching even after he exposed himself coming out of the shower to an assistant., because meh, who's to say what really happened and things like that happen frequently. But Mel Tucker sexually harassed a woman who's job was to teach people not to sexually harass other people. ....and he admitted to it. The guy is forfeiting like $80 million for being a creep. Add to it all of the cigar smoking, throne sitting, Tuck Comin' BS and it is the perfect story. Not to mention the "Tuck Comin" is the perfect title for the made for TV movie (HBO or Cinemax).
Tuck Comin'
(Pride comes before the fall*)
*I think the Pride comes before the fall was first used by Hotel Putingrad, but it may have been someone else.
September 14th, 2023 at 10:22 AM ^
It does not look like a crime is being alleged here. That is a significant distinction in and of itself.
But I don't think that means it will be neater or tidier as far as the fallout for the program. USA and MSU gymnastics were far enough removed from the big profit sports that, aside from mere proximity, it did not impact football or basketball. Not so in this case. My guess is that MSU will rally a bit here short term with Mork but then Tucker will be fired and kids will hit the portal at a staggering pace. If you bet big enough on something and come up snake eyes you are going to take a big hit. MSU football is going to crater.
In terms of Michigan State University, however, I don't think this will end up being much of a stain in terms of reputation (over and above the stain that already exists). This was one man being an idiot. Yes, you can point at MSU administration, etc. for the hire but this isn't really a school-wide scandal in the Nassar sense.
September 14th, 2023 at 11:46 AM ^
Solomon. Book of Proverbs.
September 13th, 2023 at 8:54 PM ^
YES!!!
EVERY TIME the Sparties hire a new head football coach, Mel will be mentioned.
He has etched his name in Spartan history.
"A day that will live in Infamy." (For Sparties, at least.)
May as well get him a statue outside of Spartan Stadium.
September 13th, 2023 at 7:18 PM ^
I hope it was someone inside the msu BOT. I hope the worst result possible for msu is the final outcome. IMO that would be they fire Mel, he is able to keep all the contract money and they lose a lawsuit for leaking the name.