The legal professionals for suspended Michigan Shape soccer trainer Mel Tucker replied Monday to the varsity’s written letter terminating generation that it intends to fireside him for reason, claiming the college followed the allegations towards Tucker “without any meaningful review of the facts.”

Within the actual of a demanding back-and-forth between Tucker and the college, his legal professionals laid out a case in a 25-page file that comes with point-by-point the explanation why the varsity shouldn’t be allowed to fireside him for reason.

The letter on Monday from Foley & Lardner LLP — titled “Response to Term Notice” — comes within the wake of the letter from MSU athletic director Alan Haller terminating generation during which Haller states that the varsity intends to fireside Tucker on Tuesday until causes are offered why it shouldn’t.

“[Tucker] did not engage in unprofessional or unethical behavior or ‘moral turpitude’ by any stretch of the imagination,” the letter from Tucker’s legal professionals on Monday states. “In fact, as discussed below, under Michigan law, assault and battery does not even constitute ‘moral turpitude,’ and the flimsy foundation of the university’s finding — a private relationship involving mutual flirting and one instance of consensual phone sex — falls far short of the mark.”

Michigan Shape is within the strategy of making an attempt to fireside Tucker for reason within the wake of a sexual misconduct criticism introduced via Brenda Tracy, a sexual attack consciousness speaker. The college opened a sexual misconduct investigation towards Tucker in December 2022. The case to make a decision if he violated college coverage is scheduled to move to a listening to within the first generation of October.

Tracy has disputed the perception that the telephone intercourse referenced within the criticism was once consensual.

By means of making an attempt to fireside Tucker for reason, Michigan Shape is aiming to steer clear of paying him the $79 million difference on his oath. In line with the pointed pitch that’s been woven thru Tucker’s responses at the subject, his legal professionals argue strongly that he must no longer be fired for reason.

The letter on Monday states that Tucker didn’t breach his oath, questions the validity of the varsity’s investigation into the criticism towards Tucker and criticizes the varsity’s incapability to conserve confidentiality.

Tracy shared her criticism publicly in a tale printed via USA Nowadays previous this day. She and her legal professional mentioned they had been pressured to proportion their model of occasions then they gained promise that anyone else on the college had leaked her identify to a reporter. The college has rented the Jones Week legislation company to research the alleged splash.

Tucker and his legal professionals declare the varsity’s investigation into Tracy’s sexual harassment claims towards him has been “terribly flawed, unfair, biased, and devoid of due process.”

“Tucker is just the fall guy for the university’s negligence and misfeasance, the long history of which includes and predates the [Larry] Nassar matter, but which unfortunately has continued and tainted the university’s handling of this matter,” the letter states.

The letter from Tucker’s legal professionals additionally questions why the college determined to fireside the trainer for reason quickly then he’d requested for clinical shed. The letter states that the legal professionals “reserve all rights to supplement this response when he is medically cleared to assist us in fully responding to the Notice.”

The latest letter from the legal professionals is 12 pages, and it concludes via pointing out that the college lacks reason to finish Tucker’s oath.

“By doing so, it is in breach of the agreement,” the letter states. “The above reasons are more than sufficient to refute the grounds for early termination set forth in the notice. We sincerely hope the university will take them seriously, if not because it cares about Tucker’s rights, then because it cares about the limitless liability it will face over the private lives of its thousands of employees and faculty.”

The letter is addressed to Haller and carries a pointed pitch all over: “If the university investigated your private life or that of any other employee, it would certainly find something ’embarrassing’ to presumably justify your or their termination.”

Tucker excepted a commentary terminating generation within the wake of the varsity informing him that they intend to fireside him for reason. He known as the goal to fireside him a “miscarriage of justice,” claimed a “bias” towards him and hinted at a possible lawsuit via announcing he regarded ahead attainable “discovery,” hinting at an next lawsuit.

Michigan Shape’s termination letter from Haller, which mentioned that the varsity has “amassed a body of undisputed evidence of misconduct that warrants termination,” tie to the criticism filed via Tracy in December 2022.

In Haller’s letter terminating generation, he mentioned that the letter “qualifies as ‘written notice, specifying the grounds for termination’ under the Early Termination Provision” in Tucker’s oath. The letter states that the college is offering Tucker with seven days to “present reasons to the Athletic Director and the University’s President as to why (you) should not be terminated,” quoting Tucker’s oath.

Prior to being suspended with out pay previous this day, Tucker had led Michigan Shape to a 2-0 file. He’s 20-14 thru 4 seasons, and Michigan Shape has been overwhelmed via a blended rating of 72-16 since Tucker’s postponed beneath intervening time trainer Harlon Barnett.

General as a head trainer at Colorado and MSU, his profession file is 25-21.

ESPN’s Dan Murphy contributed to this file.