Justin Tucker releases statement after being accused of sexual misconduct

BALTIMORE (WBFF) — Baltimore Ravens' kicker Justin Tucker has issued a statement after a report released Thursday accused him of inappropriate behavior at high-end spas.

According to the report by the Baltimore Banner, Tucker acted inappropriately with massage therapists at four luxury spas and wellness centers around the Baltimore area.

Managers from two of the spas said Tucker was banned from their establishments, The Banner reported. The accounts from the six therapists included details of Tucker “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,” The Banner reported.

ALSO READ | SUN: Ravens' Justin Tucker denies allegations of ‘inappropriate behavior’ at high-end spas

Attorneys for Tucker denied the allegations of inappropriate behavior to The Banner, calling them speculative and “impossible to prove” and saying Tucker had never been banned from the spas.

Tucker himself denied the allegations on Thursday, posting a statement on his X account:

You can read the full statement below:

The allegations in The Baltimore Banner article about me are unequivocally false.

Throughout my career as a professional athlete, I have always sough to conduct myself with the utmost professionalism. 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. I have never received any complaints from a massage therapist, I have never been dismissed from a massage therapy or bodywork session, and have never been told that I was not welcome at any spa or other place of business.

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.

It is no surprise that the paper's interactions with me were marked by journalistic failures at every turn. When I first learned that the newspaper was writing this article, they refused to reveal the full claims they were planning to make against me. It wasn't until I was forced to hire the leading defamation law firm in the U.S. to write to the paper that they finally revealed what they were planning on writing. Then, when they did finally provide some of this information, the gave me next to no time to provide a response. It is clear why - they had no interest in what I (or anyone else) had to say.

Once I reviewed the newspaper's allegations against me, it was apparent that the newspaper was deliberately misconstruing events as nefarious (which were not) and were relying on third party speculation to create the false, preconceived narrative about me that they believed would generate clicks. The newspaper had already written this false, salacious profile well before attempting to speak to me or any of the bodywork professionals I have worked closely for the better part of the past decade. The newspaper made no effort to interview these key witnesses until prompted to do so by my defamation attorney - because they did not want to hear what they had to say about me.

I have always made a conscious effort to be considerate and respectful in all of the interactions with the community that I love so much. It is devastating for me to learn that anyone would feel I was offensive in any way. I maintain I did not act inappropriately at any point before, during, or after a professional bodywork treatment session. I would never intend to offend or hurt anyone, ever. As a matter of principle, I respect when individuals come forward to report misconduct f any kind. I support a process that allows claims to be properly investigated. But, for the sake of myself and my family, I cannot allow these false claims to go unchallenged. I cannot be any clearer. These allegations are false and incredibly hurtful to both me, and more importantly, my family.

The NFL released the following statement on the accusations against Tucker, via spokesman Brian McCarthy:

"We first became aware of the allegations from the reporter investigating this story as they were not previously shared with with the NFL. We take any allegation seriously and will look into the matter."

The Ravens released the following statement:

"We are aware of the Baltimore Banner’s story regarding Justin Tucker as well as his response.

We take any allegations of this nature seriously and will continue to monitor the situation."