Ravens' comments on Justin Tucker allegations highlight their hypocrisy

When Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson was suspended six games for his behavior towards massage therapists, Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said the organization had a "zero-tolerance policy" towards any kind of sexual or physical misconduct towards women.

Now, faced with a similar situation in regards to one of their own players, it turns out that it was nothing more than lip service.

Harbaugh and general manager Eric DaCosta were asked about their zero-tolerance policy on Tuesday at the NFL Combine, and when pressed on how it relates to kicker Justin Tucker, they backpedalled from their previous stance.

For those unaware, Tucker has been accused of sexually inappropriate behavior by 16 massage therapists, according to the Baltimore Banner. He's also under NFL investigation for his conduct.

“The allegations are serious, concerning. The amount of allegations are serious, concerning,” DeCosta said when asked about potentially releasing Tucker, the team’s longest-tenured player. “I think we’re fortunate that the league is doing an investigation. We’ll wait as patiently as we can for as much information as we can. We’ll make our decisions based on that.”

When asked about their zero-tolerance policy, DeCosta said said every case is different and "there are no absolutes."

Harbaugh echoed DeCosta's sentiments, saying the team would wait for the NFL to conclude its investigations.

"That's what the process is for," Harbaugh said.

That's a far cry from the team's sentiments in 2022, when Watson was suspended.

"I respect what Steve Bisciotti and Dick Cass created here almost 10 years ago," Harbaugh said. "Basically, we're kind of zero tolerance. You have to know the truth, you have to try to understand the circumstances, but we've stayed away from that particular situation – when we draft players, when we sign them as free agents. That's Steve's decision, and I'm glad that we have that policy."

So, why was it a zero-tolerance policy before? Why was it such a hardline stance when it was Watson, but now that it's Tucker, we're waiting and seeing? Why is it that when the rubber hits the road and it's time to show that your principles are actually your principles and not just nice words, you back down and hem and haw about actually sticking to your guns?

There's a word for that: hypocrisy.

There are sixteen accusers in this situation. That's not a single aberration, or a potential misread of an awkward moment or two. It's a definable, repeated pattern of behavior. If the first time was an accident or misunderstanding, there never would have been a chance for 16 different therapists to make similar claims.

If even half of the allegations are true, that's eight different woman Tucker was actively inappropriate towards. Even if his actions aren't legally actionable, does that make what he did okay or right?

You're not under any kind of legal obligation to keep him on the team; NFL teams cut players all the time, with no justification given. You could even come up with an on-field reason to cut him; Tucker's performance has dipped substantially in the last three seasons, and nosedived last year, in which he hit just 73 percent of his field goal attempts.

If it's not just lip service, then the Ravens should show that zero tolerance means zero tolerance. Otherwise, everything they said was just nice word to make their fans feel good compared to the Browns.

Home/NFL