In the blink of an eye, Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker’s reputation has taken a dramatic downturn.
Last week, several local massage therapists came forward against Tucker in a lengthy report by The Baltimore Banner, accusing him of inappropriate sexual behaior during sessions. Six came forward in the original report published on Thursday, with three more coming forward in a follow-up article published Saturday morning.
Tucker released a statement denying any wrongdoing shortly after the initial report, but all the Ravens and the NFL have said is that they take the allegations seriously and are looking into them. Very standard statements for when a situation like this arises, though there’s really not much else they could say.
At Monday’s Super Bowl press conference, though, commissioner Roger Goodell spoke publicly about the situation for the first time. In addition to reiterate what the league already said in its initial statement, Goodell said he was “surprised” by the allegations.
“We will look into those issues,” Goodell said, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. “They’re obviously serious issues, and we’re taking those seriously as well as he.”
Of course, Goodell re-affirmed that any NFL investiagion would not interfere with law enforcement.
A resolution would almost certainly depend on the result of an outside process, be it a civil trial or a criminal investigation. The Ravens have not yet indicated if they will release him, as the process is still playing out in real-time.
