BALTIMORE — Ravens' kicker Justin Tucker on Thursday issued a fiery denial in response to a report accusing him of sexual misconduct.
Tucker claims the Baltimore Banner published an article "marked by journalistic failures."
"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.
The multi-time All Pro said the report was written "well before" anyone attempted to speak with him or people he's worked with.
"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," Tucker said.
The Baltimore Ravens and the NFL released a statement, per ESPN Ravens reporter Jamison Hensley,
"We first became aware of the allegations from the reporter investigating this story as they were not previously shared with the NFL. We take any allegation seriously and will look into the matter."
"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."
Tucker's full statement can be read here:
The allegations in The Baltimore Banner article about me are unequivocally false.
Throughout my career as a professional athlete, I have always sought 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, 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, 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.
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 ever
attempting to speak to me or any of the bodywork professionals I have worked with closely for the
better part of the last 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 of
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 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.
*This is a developing story and will be updated when more information becomes available.*
