By Following an investigative report by the Baltimore Banner that detailed allegations of sexual misconduct by Baltimore Ravens’ Justin Tucker by six unnamed massage therapists, the NFL kicker issued a lengthy denial of the claims, calling them “unequivocally false.”
The Banner said it spoke with the therapists who claimed Tucker acted inappropriately during his treatments, including exposing his genitals and that he “asked them to massage his pelvic area or inner thighs while he had an erection.”
Two therapists claimed Tucker made unwanted physical contact with his penis. The Baltimore Banner reports the alleged incidents happened between 2012 and 2016 at four businesses in the Baltimore area and that “two spas banned him from returning.” No therapists have filed lawsuits or contacted law enforcement, according to the report.
Tucker says he has “never been accused of acting inappropriately in front of a massage therapist or during any massage therapy session… never received any complaints from a massage therapist…and have never been told that I was not welcome at any spa or other place of business.”
“In accusing me of misconduct, the article takes innocuous, or ambiguous, interactions and skews them so out of proportion they are no longer recognizable, and it presents vague insinuations as fact,” Tucker said in a statement posted on X Thursday. “This is desperate tabloid fodder.”
The 13-year pro, known as one of the league’s best place kickers, was steadfast in his denial.
“I cannot allow false claims to go unchallenged. I cannot be any clearer. These allegations are false and incredibly hurtful to both me and, more importantly, my family,” the 35-year-old said.
The NFL didn’t say when the league became aware of the claims but said, “We first became aware of the allegations from the reporter investigating this story as they were not previously shared with the NFL.”
In its statement, the NFL continued, “We take any allegation seriously and will look into the matter.”
The Ravens also released a statement noting the team was aware of the report and was taking “any allegations of this nature seriously and will continue to monitor the situation.”
Tucker won Super Bowl XLVII with the Ravens in 2013 and owns the highest career field goal percentage (89.1%) making him the most accurate kicker in NFL history.
