It’s OK to feel conflicted.
I’ve thought about that a lot in the days since The Baltimore Banner first reported on the accusations of wildly inappropriate behavior by Ravens kicker Justin Tucker toward massage therapists in the 2010s.
It’s OK to feel conflicted … just as long as none of that conflict involves whether or not Tucker’s alleged actions were appropriate. The alleged behavior was deplorable. It wasn’t “boys being boys.” It cannot be defended by his relative youth at the time or a potential “sexual addiction” or any trauma he might have experienced or anything along those lines.
Explanations aren’t excuses. The alleged behavior was a form of assault. There were actual victims.
If your conflict is more along the lines of “I’ve always felt a certain way about Justin Tucker and it’s just difficult to accept that those feelings might have been misplaced,” then I completely understand. Like many of you, I’ve had a lot of interactions with Justin Tucker. I’ve enjoyed them. He’s been kind to me. He’s been kind to my family. I most certainly would have labeled myself a “fan” of Justin Tucker.
It’s difficult to measure those things against this alleged repugnant behavior. But it’s not difficult to recognize the detailed reporting of The Banner and how dramatically unlikely it appears that these allegations are without merit.
Beyond the conflict, we all have questions.
“Will he face NFL punishment?”
“Do the Ravens choose to move on from him altogether?”
“What exactly did the Ravens know and when did they know it?”
“How will this impact his chances of reaching the Hall of Fame?”
“Would we feel differently about any of this if he was still prime Justin Tucker?”
And oh yeah, “why?”
There are certainly more. But these questions are at the center of how the conversation will be shaped in the coming weeks and months.
It is equally shameful and predictable that Tucker’s forceful denial included pointed aggression toward The Banner. The initial story and follow-up were incredibly thorough and fair. We’ve reached a point in society where attacking legitimate journalism has become astonishingly common even if completely baseless. The belief is that reporters are easy targets. Even if you purchase a Banner subscription, you certainly don’t wear the jersey of any of their reporters. Tucker’s team, like so many others in our country, believes it can “win” the court of public opinion simply by creating a new antagonist. It is both vile and sadly, in many cases, effective.
In a perfect world, if the allegations indeed are true, Tucker would acknowledge his wrongdoing. He would ask for forgiveness from the victims and from the public. He would show genuine contrition. He would take accountability. He would lay out what he’s done to rehabilitate to this point (as we are years removed from these allegations), what he’ll continue to do to rehabilitate and what new steps he might take in his rehabilitation now that his past behavior is known publicly.
None of it would erase the pain he allegedly afflicted on these professionals, but it would present the best chance at the public at large being willing to give him a “second chance.” The argument can be made that perhaps Tucker has already changed his ways. But without clear contrition, we’re not inclined to offer true forgiveness. Well, unless you’re running for public office.
Alas, we don’t live in that utopian society. (If we did, we probably wouldn’t be in this position to begin with.) To be clear, if somehow these allegations aren’t true, Tucker absolutely deserves the right to defend himself. If the allegations are true, the more likely scenario is that Tucker’s team will look to come to some sort of settlement with the accusers that doesn’t involve an acknowledgment of guilt but does shield them from speaking about the allegations with the team or league’s investigators, making it impossible to impose any punishment.
If that were to happen, the team’s “Zero Tolerance Policy” will fall back under the microscope. What exactly do they have zero tolerance for? Inappropriate behavior toward women? Or inappropriate behavior that happens to have been caught on camera? Is there a “Zero Tolerance Policy” at all? The Banner was correct to point out in its initial reporting that signing Dalvin Cook late in the 2023 season and the Ravens’ inaction after a police investigation into an alleged incident involving Zay Flowers last offseason would suggest that it’s not actually a ZERO Tolerance Policy at all.
Some Ravens fans might point that perhaps the team shouldn’t have a Zero Tolerance Policy. The Kansas City Chiefs are preparing to play for a third straight Super Bowl title with both Kareem Hunt and Charles Omenihu on their roster, two players who have served multi-game suspensions for violence toward women.
And yes, the Ravens will have to answer questions about whether they knew about Tucker’s alleged behavior and whether they might have potentially covered anything up throughout the years. That doesn’t mean they’ll answer the questions honestly, but they’ll inevitably be asked.
Unlike fun Super Bowl props, this isn’t a time for predictions. I personally support the general idea of teams I root for having a Zero Tolerance Policy for domestic violence and/or sexual assault. I also recognize that these issues aren’t always black and white.
If these allegations are true, I hope Justin Tucker has already improved as a person and continues to do so (after taking accountability), whether he ever kicks for the Baltimore Ravens again or not. And I hope the alleged victims find comfort and support moving forward instead of further trauma.
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox