NFL says it will look into allegations against Justin Tucker made by massage therapists
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BALTIMORE — The NFL will look into allegations that Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker behaved inappropriately toward massage therapists at four spas and wellness centers in the Baltimore area, a league spokesman said.
The Baltimore Banner detailed the accusations in a lengthy report Thursday. The paper said it spoke to six massage therapists who recounted firsthand experiences with Tucker from 2012 to 2016. Several therapists said they ended Tucker’s sessions early or refused to work on him again, and managers from two spas said they banned him from returning.
“We first became aware of the allegations from the reporter investigating this story as they were not previously shared with the NFL,” league spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement. “We take any allegation seriously and will look into the matter.”
A lawyer representing women who filed sexual misconduct lawsuits against Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson says 20 of the 24 suits have been settled.
Tucker is accused of exposing his genitals, brushing two therapists with his exposed penis and leaving what they believed to be semen on the massage table after three treatments, according to the Banner.
Tucker posted a statement on social media calling the allegations about him in the Banner story “unequivocally false.”
“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,” he said.
Tucker, 35, just finished his 13th season in the NFL, all with the Ravens. He’s achieved stardom in a way that’s rare for a kicker, and his 66-yard field goal in 2021 remains the longest in league history.
In 2022, Tucker agreed to a four-year contract extension through 2027. That deal included $17.5 million guaranteed.
“We are aware of the Baltimore Banner’s story regarding Justin Tucker as well as his response,” a Ravens spokesman said. “We take any allegations of this nature seriously and will continue to monitor the situation.”
According to the Banner, a representative of the spa chain Ojas said Tucker was “immediately terminated as a client” in 2014 after “a massage therapist reported an incident that allegedly occurred during a massage therapy session with Justin Tucker.” Owners of Studio 921, which is now closed, said through an attorney they “took immediate and decisive action to ban this individual from our business and services to ensure a safe environment for all.”
The Chiefs are trying to become the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls, but many fans believe officials are on Kansas City’s side and have helped it win.
In his response, Tucker said: “I have never received any complaints from a massage therapist, have never been dismissed from a massage therapy or bodywork session, and have never been told that I was not welcome at any spa or other place of business.”
The allegations have some similarities to unrelated accusations made against another NFL player, quarterback Deshaun Watson. More than two dozen women accused Watson of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions while he played for Houston. After being traded to the Cleveland Browns, Watson missed the first 11 games of the 2022 season after an independent arbitrator determined that he violated the league’s personal conduct policy.
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