OWINGS MILLS, MD — Former Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker will be suspended for the first 10 weeks of the upcoming NFL season, ESPN reported Thursday afternoon.
The Ravens released Tucker in early May. In January, he was accused of inappropriate sexual behavior by over a dozen Baltimore-area massage therapists.
ESPN's Adam Schefter said the suspension is "for violating the league's personal conduct policy."
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Neither Tucker nor the Ravens have commented on the suspension, which would cause Tucker, who is a free agent, to miss about two-thirds of the regular season.
Tucker is still a free agent and is free to sign with any team.
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ESPN said he can serve the suspension as a free agent. If he were to sign, he could participate in training camp and preseason games.
The suspension starts Aug. 26 and ends on Nov. 11, ESPN reported.
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Tucker previously denied accusations of inappropriate sexual behavior made by massage therapists at multiple high-end spas in Maryland after The Baltimore Banner published an explosive report detailing alleged encounters between the athlete and the women.
The Ravens did not mention the allegations when they announced Tucker's release last month.
"Sometimes football decisions are incredibly difficult, and this is one of those instances. Considering our current roster, we have made the tough decision to release Justin Tucker," Ravens Executive Vice President and General Manager Eric DeCosta said in a statement.
Baltimore drafted Arizona kicker Tyler Loop in the sixth round in April.
"Justin created many significant and unforgettable moments in Ravens history," DeCosta said. "His reliability, focus, drive, resilience and extraordinary talent made him one of the league's best kickers for over a decade. We are grateful for Justin's many contributions while playing for the Ravens. We sincerely wish him and his family the very best in this next chapter of their lives."
Tucker has not been charged with any crimes, and The Banner said the statute of limitations would have already expired for any potential charges.
"The allegations in The Baltimore Banner article about me are unequivocally false," Tucker said in January on X, formerly Twitter. "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."
The Banner cited six massage therapists who alleged that Tucker exposed his genitals, brushed two of them with his exposed penis and left what they thought was ejaculate on the massage table after three treatments.
The Banner said additional accusers came forward, bringing the total to 16 massage therapists from eight spas.
"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.
Sources told The Banner the behavior happened between 2012 and 2016.
"I can’t watch sports anymore. I see his face everywhere," a woman only identified as J. told The Banner of her interactions with Tucker when she massaged him at the former Apothecary Wellness in Federal Hill.
The alleged victims reported that the encounters also happened at Ojas in Pikesville, the now-closed Studio 921 in Locust Point and The Healing Path in Lutherville, which has since shuttered. Sources told The Banner that Tucker was banned from two of the spas, which the kicker denied.
"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," Tucker said.
Tucker played for the Ravens since 2012. He is the most accurate kicker in NFL history, and he owns the record for the league's longest field goal at 66 yards. His contract with the Ravens runs through the 2027 season.
"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," Tucker said, pointing to other therapists who endorsed him as a well-behaved client.
The 35-year-old played college ball at Texas. Since coming to Baltimore, he's become known for his opera singing and ads for Royal Farms.
"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," Tucker said.
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