Super Bowl week pushed the Justin Tucker case out of the spotlight and onto the back burner. It’s now back to full boil.
The Baltimore Banner, which first broke the story of multiple women accusing Ravens kicker Justin Tucker of inappropriate behavior during massage-therapy sessions, now reports that seven more alleged victims have emerged. The total has reached 16.
The initial story had the number of accusers at six. Soon thereafter, the list reached double digits.
Tucker has denied all allegations.
The seven new accusers, per the report, worked for businesses including The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel and the Baltimore Spa & Salon at the Ritz-Carlton Residences (which has since closed and been replaced).
Tucker’s representatives did not specifically respond to the latest allegations, referring instead to Tucker’s lengthy post on Twitter from January 30 in which he issues a broad and flat denial.
Two spas reportedly have banned Tucker. His lawyers say he has been banned from none. Old tweets and at least one Reddit post referred to Tucker being banned from spas at least three years ago.
The NFL has said it’s looking into the situation. Tucker has a potential path to short-circuiting any league investigation, by reaching settlements including confidentiality agreements with every accuser.
That prospect becomes more difficult now that there are 16 accusers. And even if he can secure from 16 accusers a commitment to not speak to the league, which has no subpoena power, the Ravens can always cut him.
For cap reasons, it makes more sense for the Ravens to delay any move until the start of the new league year, in less than four weeks. As the number of accusers continues to grow, the Ravens might have to act sooner than that.
Yes, Tucker denies everything. At some point, however, the volume of accusers reaches a critical mass that common sense cannot ignore.
It’s one thing to dismiss one or two people are lying. It’s far more daunting to do that when the number is approaching 20.
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