The Michigan State football team has had to overcome major hardships since the scandal of head football coach, Mel Tucker. Tucker had multiple allegations that emerged from the media recently, saying he has committed severe acts of sexual harassment. Thus, his contract for being the head football coach was suspended on Sept. 27. According to the ESPN website, Michigan State hired a private investigator to get a deeper look into the situation. The investigator had been examining the allegations since last January, and concluded that Tucker’s behavior was very problematic. Brenda Tracy, an advocate for sexual assault awareness, filed a complaint against Tucker in April of 2022. Tracy was given the opportunity to speak to the Michigan State football team about her personal experiences of sexual abuse. Tracy explained that Tucker made very uncomfortable advances toward her. Eventually, Tracy shared that Tucker used sexually inappropriate language on a phone call without her consent. When Tucker admitted to this, he said it was a consensual relationship. Tracy noted how uncomfortable she felt in the situation. She then raised her concerns on Tucker’s questionable acts, and she was able to file a claim under Michigan States sexual misconduct policy. Following this, Michigan State made a letter explaining that Tucker was fired from coaching because of his admitted behaviors, thus deriding the university. According to ncbcsportschicago.com, Tucker got his 95 million dollar contract taken away in Sept. 2023. This contract was one of the highest paying in college football. Tucker’s actions brought public disrespect to the entire college, especially the football team. Freshman on the Michigan State football team, Jax Wilson, had to deal with the effects of Tucker’s incident. Wilson is a freshman on the Michigan State football team. He said that the team was shocked and didn’t know what to believe. Then, Wilson stated, “The senior leaders came together and talked and discussed how an event like this could bring us together or tear us apart.” Wilson knew that the right thing to do was to overcome this adverse situation and move forward with the season. When Tucker was terminated from the team, Harlem Barnett stepped in to help. According to the MSU Spartans website, Barnett first helped coach the football OB team from 2007-2014. Then, he was promoted to be assistant coach in 2015. Following this, he eventually worked with Florida State as a defensive back coach during the 2018 and 2019 seasons. In 2020, Barnett went back to Michigan State during Covid-19, and was the secondary coach following Tucker. Barnett has had many coaching experiences, so he was the perfect fit to lead the team in the 2023 season. Wilson said that the football team had to quickly adapt to the new changes of the coaching styles that Barnett offered. Wilson stated, “Everyone has done a great job adapting to it with such an unexpected change. Coach Barnett has done an amazing job taking over for a position he did not expect to be in.” The football team is very strong for being in such traumatic situations, and things are only looking up from here. Wilson says, “Overall, it has been a very good transition for the team with the circumstances.” Now, Jonathan Smith is going to become the official head coach going into the 2024 season. He was the Oregon State head coach, and led his team to be one of the best in the conference. According to the MSU Spartans website, “He’s shown not only the ability to recruit talented student-athletes who fit his system, but also to develop and maximize players once they’re in the program.” Smith will be a great addition to the football program. The future is bright for the football team. Considering the hardships they had to go through, nothing can get in the way of the family that Michigan State has.