INDIANAPOLIS — On Tuesday, Ravens General Manager Eric DeCosta took questions ahead of the NFL Combine.
This is the first time DeCosta has spoken since the allegations against Justin Tucker came about in late January.
Initially, the multi-time All-Pro was accused of inappropriate behavior toward six massage therapists in the Baltimore area, according to the Baltimore Banner, which broke the story on January 30.
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DeCosta said the allegations and the number of victims who have stepped forward are serious and concerning.
He also said that the team found out about the allegations when they were made aware that the Baltimore Banner was preparing to publish the story.
"I think we are fortunate that the league is doing an investigation. We'll wait as patiently as we can for as much information as we can, and we’ll make our decisions based on that,” said DeCosta.
DeCosta said he has met with the league surrounding Tucker, and believes the league is meeting with others in Baltimore as they continue to investigate.
When asked if he had met with Tucker since the allegations broke, DeCosta confirmed he had and that he would keep the conversations he had with him private.
He also added that, like with every position, the team will evaluate kickers in this upcoming draft.
"We're blessed to have a really good kickers coach in Randy Brown, who does a phenomenal job evaluating punters and kickers and long snappers for us every single season. We'll meet with Randy throughout the process. Over the coming weeks, he’ll travel all over the country looking at these guys, and we’ll build the best board that we can,” DeCosta said.
Since the initial article revealing the six therapists accusing Tucker, the Baltimore Banner published two more articles claiming 10 more massage therapists are accusing Tucker of inappropriate behavior, bumping the number to 16.
The latest report was published on February 16.
Tucker denied the allegations, claiming that the Banner's report was 'desperate tabloid fodder' and 'unequivocally false.'
"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, they 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," Tucker added.
He has not made any statements since the Banner released the most recent articles.
