Seven more massage therapists accuse Ravens kicker Justin Tucker of sexual misconduct - The Guardian

[Guardian sport]

Seven more massage therapists have accused Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker of sexually inappropriate conduct, the Baltimore Banner reported on Sunday.

The Banner says a total of 16 massage therapists from eight Baltimore-area spas have now shared allegations of Tucker’s misconduct with the Banner. All the therapists said Tucker’s actions occurred between 2012 and 2016.

The Banner first reported allegations against Tucker late last month, saying it had spoken with six massage therapists who recounted their first-hand experiences with him. The number of accusers has more than doubled since.

The initial accusations include claims that Tucker exposed his genitals, brushed some of the therapists with his penis and left ejaculate on treatment tables. Two spas told the Banner they had banned Tucker from returning. One therapist who spoke to the Banner described Tucker’s alleged behavior as “really degrading”. Another said that “I can’t watch sports anymore. I see his face everywhere.”

Sunday’s allegations were similar to the accounts that had previously been published. The fresh claims include an allegation Tucker used his erect penis to move a sheet covering him.

Tucker said after the initial allegations emerged that he has never received any complaints from a massage therapist or been told he was not welcome at a spa or other place of business. On Sunday, his lawyers directed the Banner to their previous statements on the allegations.

“Mr Tucker has never behaved inappropriately during any massage therapy session, and certainly never in the manner described … Any suggestion to the contrary is a fictitious and utterly baseless claim,” attorneys Thomas A Clare and Steven J Harrison told the Banner last month.

The NFL has said it will look into the matter. “They are obviously serious issues, and he is taking that seriously as are we,” the league’s commissioner, Roger Goodell, said in the run-up to the Super Bowl. The Ravens issued their own statement last month, saying that: “We take any allegations of this nature seriously and will continue to monitor the situation.”

Tucker is considered by many to be the greatest kicker in NFL history, and holds the records for longest field-goal and career field-goal percentage. He has been named to the Pro Bowl seven times since he joined the Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2012. The 35-year-old is one of the few kickers to become a well-known name in the US, and is also known as an amateur opera singer.

The allegations are similar to those faced by quarterback Deshaun Watson. In 2022, the NFL suspended Watson for 11 games after more than 24 women accused him of sexual assault and inappropriate conduct that occurred while he was getting massages. Criminal charges were never brought against Watson, but he reached settlements in 23 of the 24 civil lawsuits that he was facing.