Justin Tucker #9 of the Baltimore Ravens warms up before the game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on September 22, 2024 in Arlington, Texas. Photo:
Sam Hodde/Getty
Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker is denying allegations from six massage therapists of sexual misconduct, in a statement shared with PEOPLE on Thursday, Jan. 30.
The Baltimore Banner reported Thursday that six massage therapists in the Baltimore area are accusing Tucker of inappropriate sexual behavior while they were treating the Ravens kicker at four different high-end spas and wellness centers in the city.
The therapists claimed to the Baltimore Banner that Tucker had at times exposed his genitals, brushed his genitals against them and left ejaculate on the massage table. The outlet reported that Tucker has been banned by management at two of the spas.
Tucker, 35, said the allegations against him are “unequivocally false.”
“Throughout my career as a professional athlete, I have always sought to conduct myself with the utmost professionalism,” Tucker said in his statement, also shared on X. “I have never before been accused of misconduct of any kind, and I have never been accused of acting inappropriately in front of a massage therapist or during a massage therapy session or during other bodywork.”
Tucker said he has “never received any complaints from a massage therapist” nor has he ever “been dismissed” from a session.
“In accusing me of misconduct, the article takes innocuous, or ambiguous, interactions and skews them so out of proportion they are no longer recognizable, and it presents vague insinuations as fact. This is desperate tabloid fodder,” Tucker said.
Justin Tucker #9 of the Baltimore Ravens poses for a photo at the Under Armour Performance Center on June 10, 2019 in Owings Mills, Maryland. Rob Carr/Getty
The NFL kicker said he was aware that the Banner’s article before it was published, but was not given the details of the accusations. Tucker accused the newspaper of “deliberately misconstruing events as nefarious.”
Tucker said he has “always made a conscious effort to be considerate and respectful” in his interactions with “the community that I love so much” and called the allegations “devastating for me to learn.”
“I maintain I did not act inappropriately at any point before, during, or after a professional bodywork treatment session,” Tucker continued. “I would never intend to offend or hurt anyone, ever. As a matter of principle, I respect when individuals come forward to report misconduct of any kind. I support a process that allows claims to be properly investigated.”
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PEOPLE has reached out to the Ravens for comment.
The Baltimore Banner reported that the incidents allegedly occurred between 2012 and 2016, and the therapists, all women, did not go to the police.
Tucker won the Super Bowl with the Ravens in 2012.
