1 of 5 | Baltimore Ravens veteran Justin Tucker (9) is widely recognized as one of the greatest kickers in NFL history. File Photo by David Tulis/UPI |
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Jan. 30 (UPI) -- Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker issued a statement Thursday, denying allegations made against him for alleged sexual misconduct while visiting several massage studios. The NFL plans to look into the matter.
The allegations surfaced in an article published on the Baltimore Banner website. In that, six massage therapists from the Ojas Wellness Center, who chose to remain anonymous, alleged that Tucker exposed himself and touched them inappropriately. Management from two spas say they banned Tucker from returning, which he also denies.
"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 told UPI. "We take any allegation seriously and will look into the matter."
The Ravens said in a statement, "We are aware of the Baltimore Banner's story regarding Justin Tucker, as well as his response. We take any allegations of this nature seriously and will continue to monitor the situation."
Tucker called the allegations "unequivocally false."
"The allegations in The Baltimore Banner article about me are unequivocally false," Tucker said in a statement. "Throughout my career as a professional athlete, I have always sought to conduct myself with the utmost professionalism.
"I have never before been accused of misconduct of any kind, and I have never been accused of acting inappropriately in front of a massage therapist or during a massage therapy session or during other bodywork.
"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."
Tucker, 35, has spent his entire 13-year career with the Ravens. The seven-time Pro Bowl selection and five-time All-Pro is widely regarded as one of the best kickers in NFL history.
Upon receiving a tip, the Banner started an investigation Jan. 9. Reporters spoke to the six massage therapists, who detailed the alleged interactions from 2012 to 2016, at four different spas. None of the women said they reported their allegations to law enforcement.
"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. "This is desperate tabloid fodder."
"It is no surprise that the paper's interactions with me were marked by journalistic failures at every turn. When I first learned that the newspaper was writing this article, they refused to reveal the full claims they were planning to make against me.
"It wasn't until I was forced to hire the leading defamation law firm in the U.S. to write to the paper that they finally revealed what they were planning on writing. Then, when they did finally provide some of this information, they gave me next to no time to provide a response. It is clear why -- they had no interest in what I (or anyone else) had to say."
Tucker said the newspaper "deliberately misconstruing events as nefarious" and relied on speculation to create the "false, preconceived narrative about me that they believed would generate clicks."
No litigation has been filed against Tucker, but NFL players do not need to be criminally charged to be disciplined under the term's of the league's personal conduct policy.