(Ric Tapia via Getty Images)
(Content warning: This story contains depictions of alleged inappropriate sexual behavior.)
The Baltimore Ravens have released kicker Justin Tucker, the team announced Monday.
The Ravens made the decision amid allegations from 16 women that Tucker engaged in sexual misconduct during massage therapy sessions.
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The alleged behavior took place between 2012-16 at eight different spas in the Baltimore area, but first surfaced publicly in January in a report from the Baltimore Banner. Tucker does not face criminal charges and has denied the allegations.
The Ravens did not acknowledge the allegations in Monday’s statement from general manager Eric DeCosta announcing Tucker’s release. The Ravens, who selected Arizona kicker Tyler Loop in the sixth round of April’s draft, described the call to cut Tucker a “football decision.”
“Sometimes football decisions are incredibly difficult, and this is one of those instances,” DeCosta said, per the statement. “Considering our current roster, we have made the tough decision to release Justin Tucker.”
Per multiple reports, the NFL opened an investigation into the allegations in February that included speaking with Tucker’s accusers. The status of that investigation is unclear.
Six women spoke with the Banner for its initial story on the allegations against Tucker. Ten more women have since come forward in the Banner, many of them with similar stories about their experiences with Tucker. From a Banner story on Feb. 16 in which seven new accusers spoke with the publication:
“Their allegations are largely similar to those of the women who came forward earlier, including that he had an erection for most of the massage, intentionally and repeatedly exposed his genitals and brushed some of the therapists’ thighs with his fingers. One of the seven new women said he left what appeared to be ejaculate on the massage table after his session.”
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Tucker issued a denial after the first round of allegations were published, calling them “unequivocally false.” His representatives have pointed to his initial statement to respond to subsequent allegations.
“I maintain I did not act inappropriately at any point before, during, or after a professional bodywork treatment session,” Tucker’s statement reads.
Tucker, 35, is seven-time Pro Bowler and five-time All-Pro who’s regarded as one of the greatest kickers in football history. He’s been a mainstay for the Ravens who’s played his entire 13-season NFL career in Baltimore. Tucker made 30 of 33 (90.9%) field goal attempts as a rookie in 2012 during Baltimore’s run to a Super Bowl championship. Prior to the allegations, he was a well-liked and respected member of the Baltimore community.
Tucker is coming off the worst season of his career and the first in nine in which he was named All-Pro or to the Pro Bowl or both. Tucker connected on a career-low 73.3% of his field-goal attempts, well below his career success rate of 89.1% and his previous career-low of 82.5% (in 2015).
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Baltimore’s decision to draft loop signaled that Tucker’s time with the Ravens was in peril.
This is a breaking news story that will be updated.
