Justin Tucker massage allegations a test for Ravens and the NFL - The Athletic

[Jason Lloyd]

INDIANAPOLIS — Four years after more than two dozen women came forward with accounts of Deshaun Watson’s inappropriate behavior during massage therapy sessions, here we are again.

Another high-profile player, more troubling accusations of inappropriate behavior during massages and immediate questions about how the NFL might judge the situation.

Justin Tucker may have played his last NFL game, for the Baltimore Ravens or any other team. If he’s indeed done, it would be a stunning, humiliating fall for a kicker considered by many to be the best ever at his position, surely a Hall of Famer. He’s facing accusations of sexual misconduct from 16 women, according to reporting by The Baltimore Banner. The NFL is investigating and may be put in position to decide whether to punish Tucker if the Ravens choose to keep him.

The precedent is already set: If the league finds Tucker violated its personal conduct policy, nothing less than 11 games is acceptable. That’s how many Watson was forced to sit, despite the league pushing for an indefinite suspension of at least one full season.

Perhaps more important than the duration of a potential suspension is that the NFL has recent history to consider. This is the third time in six years that the NFL has been publicly prompted to address alarming behavior by either players or an owner during massages, though each case has had very different circumstances.

It’s worth considering whether there are other instances that have not received public attention.

Tucker, in statements and through his lawyers, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has disputed some of the details reported by The Banner. He has faced no criminal charges or lawsuits and the statute of limitations in Maryland makes civil action less likely given that the incidents are said to have taken place from 2012 to 2016. In a statement to Outkick on Wednesday, Tucker said he did not cross improper boundaries during the massages.

“It devastates me to know that anyone I have worked with would not have felt respected and valued as a professional, but more importantly as a person, and to anyone who has felt otherwise, I am sorry,” Tucker said. “I want you to know I am committed to ensuring that everyone I interact with continues to feel that I respect them and care about them as a human being.”







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Although the legal circumstances are different, the allegations have some similarities to those made against Watson. Tucker is accused of making women feel uncomfortable during sessions, exposing his genitals and, in some instances, brushing his genitals against therapists and leaving a liquid that appeared to be ejaculate on the massage table, according to The Banner.

Tucker, unlike Watson, was visiting high-end spas for treatments rather than seeking out individual practitioners, some of whom were unlicensed or had no experience working with professional athletes. Tucker was banned from two Baltimore-area locations, according to The Banner, although Tucker, in a January statement posted to X and to Outkick, said he had not been told directly of any bans.

What led to the @BaltimoreBanner's investigation on the Justin Tucker sexual misconduct allegations? @Juliemore details how what started as a tip and social media search where they found several posts backing up the rumors about Tucker led them to begin the reporting where 16… pic.twitter.com/sp4iNWwWYY

— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) February 25, 2025

Watson, whose allegations spanned 2019 to 2021, faced 25 civil suits and was suspended 11 games under the league’s personal conduct policy. The suspension ended a 15-month saga that wrecked his reputation as his career spiraled. Watson also has dealt with severe injuries since being traded from the Houston Texans to the Cleveland Browns, including a season-ending shoulder injury in 2023 and now two Achilles tears.

Even when Watson was healthy in Cleveland, he never really looked like the same quarterback from Houston, where he led the league in passing in 2020.

Now the Browns are moving on, beginning this week with the NFL combine, searching yet again for a franchise quarterback — despite $170 million in salary cap costs tied to Watson.

Tucker struggled through his worst season as a pro in 2024, missing 10 kicks and converting just 73 percent of his field goal attempts. Any other 35-year-old who kicked that poorly would’ve been cut during the season. Stack the allegations on top of his decline, and it increases the odds that he’s done in Baltimore. The Ravens just seem to be waiting on the league to help them out first.

“The allegations are serious, concerning,” Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said at the combine this week. “The amount of allegations are serious and concerning. We’re fortunate that the league is doing an investigation. We’ll wait as patiently as we can for as much information as we can. We’ll make our decisions based on that.”







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DeCosta said he does not know how long the league’s investigation will take, or whether it will conclude before the start of the season. League investigators have already met with a handful of Tucker’s accusers, according to The Banner.

But Watson’s NFL discipline took 15 months to play out as he was traded and as accusers came forward.

His playing status was complicated by his trade request from Houston and his agreement to sit out the 2021 season because of his unhappiness with the Texans and the growing allegations. After two grand juries declined to indict Watson, many of the practitioners, through attorney Tony Buzbee, continued pursuing Watson on civil charges. Watson has settled 24 of the 25 cases.

To this point, the attorneys representing the Baltimore massage therapists have not pursued legal action. Maryland’s statute of limitations is typically three years for civil suits. Still, any sort of legal action brought by the women could slow the league’s investigation.

Had the allegations emerged during the season instead of in January, the Ravens would have faced more pressure to make a quicker decision on Tucker’s future. Now, if they want to move away from Tucker, one of their most recognizable players, they have plenty of flexibility in the draft, especially in later rounds.

Ravens officials spent this week backtracking on coach John Harbaugh’s comments from three years ago, when he discussed the Browns trading for Watson and giving him a fully guaranteed $230 million contract. The move upset some teams across the league — including the Ravens.

“I respect what (team owner) Steve Bisciotti and (former team president) Dick Cass created here almost 10 years ago,” Harbaugh said in 2022. “Basically, we’re kind of zero tolerance. You have to know the truth, you have to try to understand the circumstances, but we’ve stayed away from that particular situation — when we draft players, when we sign them as free agents. That’s Steve’s decision, and I’m glad that we have that policy.”

DeCosta faced numerous questions this week about the “zero tolerance” policy mentioned by Harbaugh, prompting the team to acknowledge in a statement that it has no written, definitive, zero-tolerance policy. That they have to do this because of allegations surrounding massages involving their own franchise legend is heavy in irony.

“Each situation stands on its own and actions will be determined after all the facts are known,” the team stated.

The league has a dilemma: This is two players within a handful of years accused of gross, inappropriate sexual behavior during massage therapy sessions.

Commissioner Roger Goodell first instituted a personal conduct policy in 2007, but it has been revised over the years. The policy that was in place during the years of the Tucker accusations isn’t necessarily the same as the policy that exists today. Still, the league can punish Tucker as it chooses, regardless of whether he faces direct legal trouble.

Watson received two no bills from grand juries. Nevertheless, the league brought its four strongest cases before arbitrator and retired federal judge Sue L. Robinson, who ruled that Watson violated the league’s personal conduct policy.

Under very different circumstances, the league chose not to punish Robert Kraft when the Patriots owner was accused of paying for sex during spa visits in Florida in 2019. Kraft was charged with soliciting prostitution, but the charges were dropped when a judge ruled that police video from inside the spa could not be used because of how it was obtained.

Cases like these test the NFL’s values and enforcement mechanisms.

It may be time for the league to update its policies regarding massages. As part of Watson’s punishment, he could receive massages only from Browns staff members; that policy could be expanded to the rest of the league, too. If it’s the offseason and players are out of the facility, teams can still verify and certify any therapist working on their players. On a more fundamental level, though, the league needs to make it clear to its players that this behavior won’t be tolerated.

Tucker ended last season by making five consecutive field goals and 23 extra points over Baltimore’s final six games, including a 46-yard kick in the Ravens’ playoff loss to Buffalo. After the season, DeCosta and Harbaugh declared he would remain their kicker.

“(He) had a little bit of adversity midway through the season, but I think Justin is a tremendous competitor. Very, very talented,” DeCosta said after the season ended in January. “I would expect him to be the kicker for us next year.”

Eight days later, everything changed.

(Photo: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)