NFL kicker Justin Tucker is currently under investigation by the league because 16 massage therapists have accused him of sexual misconduct. On Monday, he was released by the only team he’s ever played for, the Baltimore Ravens. But if those two things are related, the Ravens are pointedly refusing to admit it.
The way that Baltimore announced Tucker’s exit would have made perfect sense if you saw it before January, when his claim to fame was still his lengthy run of incredible accuracy. The 35-year-old had a team-friendly out in his contract for this offseason, and he’s coming off the least effective year of his career. To that end, this statement—credited to EVP and GM Eric DeCosta—has all the hallmarks of a typical farewell to a beloved veteran-in-decline. “Sometimes football decisions are incredibly difficult, and this is one of those instances,” it begins, presumably to avoid giving grounds for a potential NFLPA grievance.
With the context of the Baltimore Banner’s reporting on Tucker, the statement feels weird and slimy, pointedly ignoring the key reason why you’d distance yourself from any guy who 16 different women have said acted inappropriately. Referring to the release as a “football decision,” and immediately adding that the call was made by “considering our current roster,” Baltimore’s statement pretends that it’s business as usual and does everything it can to ignore the impact of what those women have shared.
The allegations against Tucker include stories of him exposing his erect penis to massage therapists, brushing his penis against their bodies, and leaving what appeared to be ejaculate on the massage table. Management at two spas confirmed to the Baltimore Banner that they had banned Tucker from returning.
While team president Sashi Brown previously said the franchise would wait until the NFL’s investigation ended to make a decision on Tucker’s future, they noisily set the table for Tucker’s release by drafting another kicker, Tyler Loop, last month. Kickers shuffle around constantly, and based on his football resume alone there’s no doubt that Tucker would normally get another shot somewhere else. For now, the pending NFL investigation gives other teams an easy reason to avoid him. But it feels like a safe bet that whether he ends up with another team or not, none of them are going to want to talk about those massage therapists any more than the Ravens did.