Tucker, once one of the highest-paid college football coaches in the country, was fired in September 2023 after a USA TODAY article revealed that he was the subject of a lengthy sexual harassment investigation.

According to the investigation, Tucker made sexual comments and masturbated without consent during a phone call with Brenda Tracy, a rape victim who was a sexual assault education counselor for the MSU football team.

During USA TODAY’s investigation into Tucker’s interactions with Tracy, “reporters also became aware of additional allegations of sexual misconduct by Tucker toward female employees and co-workers,” the lawsuit states.

Shortly after the story broke, USA TODAY filed a request to release the employment records of Tucker’s former personal assistant. According to the lawsuit, the news outlet considers her “another possible victim” of Tucker’s sexual misconduct.

According to the lawsuit, MSU partially denied the request, citing “general statutory exceptions.” The documents the university actually released were heavily redacted, with two pages entirely blank.

USA TODAY unsuccessfully appealed the denial in December 2023.

The lawsuit argues that the withheld information “would enrich the public’s understanding of the activities of MSU and its Board of Trustees in light of a sexual misconduct scandal involving its (formerly) highest-paid employee.”

MSU is “a public entity and we believe the information requested is publicly available,” said USA TODAY attorney Herschel Fink.

University spokeswoman Emily Gerkin Guerrant declined to comment on the lawsuit, but said MSU’s Office of Institutional Equity and campus police have addressed any further concerns about Tucker.

“If any further concerns had been raised or reported … they would have been investigated or reviewed,” Guerrant said.

At the time of publication, Tucker’s attorneys did not respond to requests for comment.