Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh described the allegations of sexual misconduct against kicker Justin Tucker as “a really tough deal” in his first public comments on the scandal since the initial expose.
Harbaugh’s remarks came during the combine on Tuesday.
“It’s not what you want to wake up and read,” the coach began. “You don’t want to read about it. It’s not something you want to see. I don’t care what it is, in terms of things that are hurtful and harmful to people. There’s too many headlines like that, too many stories that you hear that just make you just sad and disappointed. You don’t ever want to see a circumstance and situation … where anybody is made to feel less than great when they come and are involved in a work experience somewhere.
“That’s just really a tough deal,” the coach continued. “The NFL is looking into it. They’re going to review it. They’re going to try to gather all the facts. … I’m sure we’ll have an understanding of it at that time. And then once there’s an understanding of it, then you have a chance to make some decisions and determinations and things like that. And that’s where we’re at right now.”
“We’ve all got questions,” the coach continued. “But nobody knows exactly what happened. So let’s see where the review takes us.”
Harbaugh said he spoke with Tucker roughly a week and a half after The Baltimore Banner‘s initial report dropped to have a “conversation about it.” Moreover, the coach said the Ravens are looking at kickers this offseason and would have done that even if the allegations against the 35-year-old Tucker hadn’t come out.
“We’re looking at kickers. I mean, we’re looking at a lot of positions,” Harbaugh noted. “But I’d say the kicker position would have been a priority no matter what because, you know, Justin’s our kicker. We love him. I always expected him to keep going forever. But nobody goes forever.”
The coach also said he does not regret using the phrase “zero tolerance” as it relates to the team’s stance on after-hours misconduct.
In late January, six massage therapists came forward to detail “troubling” sexual behavior from Tucker during massage sessions ranging from 2012 to 2016. Since then, 10 additional therapists have spoken out alleging similarly inappropriate behavior. The kicker has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
Also on Tuesday, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta described the accusations against Tucker as “serious” and “concerning,” and said the team will “wait as patiently as we can for as much information as we can, and we will make our decisions based on that.” The comments were DeCosta’s first public comments, as well, beyond the team’s initial statement.
