Sports
Massage therapists accuse Ravens K Justin Tucker of sexual misconduct
Jan 4, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens place kicker Justin Tucker (9) kicks off as punter Jordan Stout (11) holds during the first quarter against the Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker was accused of inappropriate sexual behavior by six massage therapists in an investigative story by the Baltimore Banner on Thursday.
Tucker released a statement on social media vehemently denying the allegations, and the Ravens said in their own statement that they “take any allegations of this nature seriously and will continue to monitor the situation.”
The Banner reporters who published the story said they received a tip Jan. 9 and began investigating the allegations. The six women who spoke to the news organization were kept anonymous out of their fear that the Ravens or their fans would retaliate.
Five accused Tucker of requesting that they “massage his pelvic region or inner thighs while he had an erection,” then proceeding to expose his genitals by moving the sheets laid over him. Two claimed that Tucker brushed them with his exposed penis, and three said that he left “a large wet spot” on their massage tables that they “strongly believed to be ejaculate.”
The alleged incidents took place between 2012 and 2016.
“The allegations in The Baltimore Banner article about me are unequivocally false,” Tucker wrote in a lengthy denial.
“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.”
The Banner’s story claimed that two Baltimore-area spas banned Tucker from returning, but Tucker’s attorneys deny that that is true. The attorneys also denied Tucker ever ejaculated at a spa.
“In accusing me of misconduct, the article takes innocuous, or ambiguous, interactions and skews them so far out of proportion they are no longer recognizable, and it presents vague insinuations as fact,” Tucker’s statement continued. “This is desperate tabloid fodder.”
Tucker retained the law firm Clare Locke and called them “the leading defamation law firm in the U.S.”
“As a matter of principle, I respect when individuals come forward to report misconduct of any kind,” Tucker wrote. “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.”
An NFL spokesperson told ESPN that it was not aware of allegations against Tucker until the Banner contacted the league for their story.
Tucker, 35, is the most accurate field goal kicker in league history (89.1 percent) and the longest-tenured member of the Ravens. He has spent his entire 13-year career (2012-24) with Baltimore.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Florida State stays hot with thorough win over Georgia Tech
Feb 28, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Florida State Seminoles guard Robert McCray V. (6) drives to the basket against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the first half at McCamish Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Robert McCray V scored a game-high 20 points to help visiting Florida State post a wire-to-wire 80-71 victory over Georgia Tech in Atlantic Coast Conference play on Saturday in Atlanta.
Thomas Bassong had 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Chauncey Wiggins chipped in 12 points for Florida State (15-14, 8-8 ACC), which won its seventh game in nine tries.
Kowacie Reeves Jr.’s 17 points led Georgia Tech (11-18, 2-14), followed by Jaeden Mustaf’s 16 and 15 points apiece from Akai Fleming and Kam Craft. The Yellow Jackets lost their 10th straight game.
After trailing by 16 points with three minutes left in the first half, Georgia Tech sliced its deficit to 45-43 on Reeves’ 3-pointer with 17:23 left in the second.
Florida State rebuilt its cushion to eight on AJ Swinton’s dunk and Cam Miles’ layup at the 10:54 mark. McCray’s stepback 3-pointer extended the lead to 65-53.
Meanwhile, Georgia Tech went 8:37 without a field goal until Craft’s 3-pointer with 5:52 remaining cut the Yellow Jackets’ deficit to 68-58.
Martin Sommerville was fouled and made an off-balance floater at the 4:13 mark, then completed the three-point play to give the Seminoles a 72-60 lead. Bassong put the finishing touches on the convincing victory with a dunk with 1:36 left.
McCray’s personal 7-0 run gave Florida State an early 9-2 lead. Kobe MaGee and Swinton drilled triples to extend the visitors’ advantage to 18-8 with 13:42 left in the first half.
Fleming’s 3-pointer pulled the Yellow Jackets within six, but Miles’ layup stamped a 6-0 Seminoles run to put them ahead 26-14 at the 8:34 mark. The margin ballooned to 16 on Wiggins’ corner 3-pointer with 4:41 remaining.
After Somerville drilled three free throws, Georgia Tech answered with a 12-1 run, including Craft and Reeves’ consecutive 3-pointers, to trim the halftime deficit to 41-36.
The Yellow Jackets held Florida State without a made field goal for the final 4:40 of the opening half.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Alex Karaban, No. 6 UConn sink Seton Hall
Feb 28, 2026; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies forward Alex Karaban (11) shoots the ball against Seton Hall Pirates guard Tajuan Simpkins (2) in the first half at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images Alex Karaban made 5 of 6 3-point attempts and scored a game-high 23 points, lifting No. 6 UConn to a 71-67 victory over Seton Hall on Saturday in a Big East matchup played In Storrs, Conn.
Solo Ball added 14 points for UConn (27-3, 17-2 Big East), which trailed by eight points midway through the second half.
Karaban sank two free throws to give UConn a 68-65 lead with 20 seconds to play.
After Seton Hall’s Adam Clark missed a 3-pointer, Ball made two free throws that extended UConn’s lead with eight seconds left. Following Najai Hines’ basket, Ball capped the scoring by making a free throw with three seconds remaining.
Seton Hall (19-10, 9-9) received 20 points from A.J. Staton-McCray, 12 from Elijah Fisher and 11 from Hines. Clark, who entered the game averaging a team-high 12.5 points per game, was held to four points.
The Pirates made 9 of 18 3-point attempts after going 0 for 18 from 3-point range in their last game, a 51-47 victory over Georgetown. Seton Hall was 1 of 16 from beyond the 3-point arc when it dropped a 69-64 decision to UConn on Jan. 13.
Despite 15 first-half points from Karaban, Seton Hall had a 33-32 halftime lead.
UConn took a 43-42 lead on a Jayden Ross layup with 14:57 left in the second half, but Seton Hall had a 54-46 advantage – its largest lead of the game – after a Staton-McCray 3-pointer with 9:33 remaining in regulation.
Braylon Mullins capped a 10-0 run that put UConn in front 58-56 with 5:57 left.
It was 63-63 after a Fisher jump shot with 2:02 to play, but the Huskies took a lead they wouldn’t relinquish when Ball made two free throws that erased a 65-64 deficit.
Mullins (11) and Tarris Reed (10) also scored in double figures for UConn.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Notre Dame stuns NC State in OT
Feb 28, 2026; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Braeden Shrewsberry (11) drives as NC State Wolfpack forward Darrion Williams (1) defends during the first half at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images Cole Certa scored 12 of his 32 points in overtime to lead Notre Dame to a stunning 96-90 win over North Carolina State Saturday afternoon in South Bend, Ind.
It was Certa’s second 30-plus-point performance in the last four games. After the Fighting Irish (13-16, 4-12 Atlantic Coast Conference) never led in regulation, they took their first lead on Certa’s 3-pointer to open OT and took the lead for good on his second perimeter shot on the ensuing possession.
Certa was 9 of 17 from the floor, making 6 of 10 threes. Jalen Haralson scored 25 points — including the team’s other three in overtime — making 8 of 15 field goals and 9 of 10 free throws.
Braeden Shrewsberry chipped in 16 points with five rebounds and three assists, and Sir Mohammed scored all 10 of his points in the first half for Notre Dame, which pulled off the significant upset to boost its hopes of making the ACC Tournament in Charlotte.
Ven-Allen Lubin scored a season-high 24 points with 10 rebounds for NC State (19-10, 10-6), which has lost four of its last five games to inch closer to the postseason bubble.
Quadir Copeland tallied 17 points and nine assists, and Darrion Williams added 17 on 7-of-17 shooting, including 3-of-10 shooting from 3-point range.
Notre Dame held a 40-32 rebounding advantage, a 38-15 edge in bench points and a 16-2 lead in fastbreak points, shooting 52.5% from the field and 48% from 3-point range (12 of 25).
NC State was held scoreless for the final 3:23 of regulation, with Notre Dame ending on a 7-0 run to rally from a nine-point deficit with 4:46 left. Haralson scored six points during that stretch, including the game-tying free throws with 19 seconds left to send it to OT tied at 81.
NC State jumped out to a 11-2 lead and never trailed in the first half. The Fighting Irish, though, battled back to tie the game at 25.
The Wolfpack immediately went on an 8-0 run, but Notre Dame again didn’t let them fully separate, making its final five shots to trail 44-38 at the half.
NC State also led throughout the second half, responding to each Notre Dame surge, but was never able to extend its lead to double figures. The Fighting Irish cut the deficit to one score three times before finally leveling the score on Haralson’s late free throws in his return to action from an ankle injury on Feb. 10.
–Field Level Media
Florida State stays hot with thorough win over Georgia Tech
Alex Karaban, No. 6 UConn sink Seton Hall
