Ravens brass call Justin Tucker allegations 'concerning': 'You don't want to read about it'
Published in Football
INDIANAPOLIS — What did the Ravens know about the slew of sexual misconduct allegations against kicker Justin Tucker and when did they know it?
Coach John Harbaugh said Tuesday at the NFL scouting combine that he first learned about them from general manager Eric DeCosta, just days before The Baltimore Banner’s initial story published last month. Harbaugh and DeCosta also said they have each spoken to Tucker in the wake of them.
“We didn’t know anything about what it was going to be, so I knew what it was when I read it,” Harbaugh said. “And then I don’t know, a week and a half, two weeks after that, I gave Justin a call on a Sunday morning, and we had a conversation about it, and talked about it. More about, you know, just more from a perspective of being together for all these years, kind of what he was going through, and what he was dealing with with that, and kind of how he’s handled it with his family and things like that. And that was really what we talked about.”
It was the first time DeCosta and Harbaugh spoke with reporters since The Banner first reported last month that six massage therapists from five spas around the Baltimore area accused the 35-year-old Tucker of “exposing his genitals, brushing two of them with his exposed penis and leaving what they believed to be ejaculate on the massage table after three of his treatments” between 2012 and 2016. Since then, 10 more massage therapists have come forward with similar accusations, according to The Banner.
Tucker, 35, has denied the allegations.
DeCosta also called the accusations against Tucker — and the volume of them — “serious” and “concerning,” but said the organization will wait for the league’s investigation to play out before deciding if he will remain with the team.
“We’re fortunate that the league is doing an investigation,” DeCosta said. “We’ll wait as patiently as we can for as much information as we can. We’ll make our decisions based on that.”
Harbaugh, who just completed his 18th season as Ravens coach, also shared his thoughts on the juxtaposition of the allegations against the Tucker he has known since the team signed the kicker as an undrafted free agent out of Texas in 2012.
“It’s not what you want to wake up and read,” he said. “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, you know, 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, disappointed, and you don’t want to ever see a circumstance or situation, especially as if it relates to, you know, your world where anybody’s made to feel less than great when they come and are involved in a work experience somewhere.
“It touches all of us in our lives. We want to do everything we can to make sure that this is just the opposite, that everybody feels like they have a great work experience. … So that’s just really a tough deal.
“You know, we’ve all got questions, but nobody knows exactly what happened. So let’s see where the review takes us.”
Both DeCosta and Harbaugh were also asked about the team’s “zero tolerance” policy, which Harbaugh referenced in 2022 after the Cleveland Browns traded for quarterback Deshaun Watson and gave him the largest guaranteed contract in NFL history while he was facing allegations of sexual misconduct from more than two dozen massage therapists. It was a pertinent topic for the Ravens as well after the video emerged in 2014 of running back Ray Rice punching his future wife in the face in an elevator, and Steve Bisciotti was asked about the team’s policy toward domestic violence.
The Ravens released Rice and he never played an NFL game again.
On Tuesday, DeCosta was asked about what role such a policy could play in whether or not Tucker remains with the team.
“I think the biggest thing that we have to do is look at every single case differently,” he said. “There are no absolutes.
“I think in this case, we’re still awaiting as much information as possible. We’re fortunate the league has come down to Baltimore. I’ve met with the league and I believe the league is meeting with other people in Baltimore as well. We’ll wait for the details of that investigation as well and make a decision based on that.”
Asked to explain the specifics of what the Ravens’ much-referred to “zero tolerance” policy is, he further clarified the organization’s stance.
“I really can’t because we look at every case differently, and the facts in every single case,” he said. “We do this for a living. We study players, we look at background, we consider all these different things. Every case is entirely different, different facts, different situations.”
It’s still unclear what punishment, if any, Tucker could face from the NFL, though under the league’s personal conduct policy, players can face a six-game suspension without pay for violations ranging from assault, battery, domestic violence or sexual assault.
Three years ago, Watson was initially suspended for six games before the NFL and the NFL Players Association settled on an 11-game suspension and $5 million fine. Watson settled nearly two dozen civil lawsuits.
What action the Ravens decide to take if Tucker faces a suspension from the league isn’t yet known, but DeCosta added that he met with Tucker following the initial wave of allegations.
“I’m going to keep those comments to myself and personal conversations with Justin is probably the smart thing to do,” he said. “But at that point, we did meet and that’s all I’m going to say about that.”
If Baltimore does decide to move on from him, though, it seems likely that would not happen until at least the start of the new league year on March 12.
By doing so, the Ravens would save just over $4 million in salary cap space and can spread his $7.5 million in dead money over each of the next two years. Tucker is coming off the worst season of his career, converting on just 73.3% of his field-goal attempts.
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