Recent reports of two sex scandals caught our attention and merit further analysis.
SCANDAL # 1: Predatory Teacher in a High-End Massachusetts Prep School
In 2024, a pair of thirty-something women came forward with strikingly similar allegations about the behavior many years before of MattR., a history teacher for over thirty years at the tony, $75k/year Miss Hall's School for Girls in the nice part of Pittsfield, Massachusetts... my birthplace. Several more alleged victims soon joined them. In their attestations, MattR.'s alleged conduct followed a tight pattern-- he identified emotionally vulnerable girls, isolated them, and then groomed them over time with special attention and gifts. When they turned sixteen he began having sex with them... sometimes right under the noses of his colleagues and even in proximity to his wife and children. His sequential relationships with the two main accusers-- HilaryS. and MelissaF.-- lasted well into their twenties.
Miss Hall's School, established in 1895 in the bucolic Berkshires of western Massachusetts
With time, adulthood, and therapy, MelissaF. gradually realized the extent of the violation and the resultant damage so egregiously inflicted upon her by a trusted authority figure. Through an attorney she shared the details of her experience with administrators at Miss Hall's School, who promptly removed MattR. from both his teaching position and his school-provided housing. MelissaF. also contacted HilaryS., who was rumored to have been similarly involved with MattR. five years before. The two women exchanged stories, joined forces, and went public, prompting a handful of fellow alumnae with similar experiences to join them in trying to hold the school-- and perhaps MattR. himself-- accountable.
The Berkshire County District Attorney's Office examined the matter but concluded that no criminal offense had occurred; alas, the legal age of consent in Massachusetts is only sixteen. But while no charges will be filed against MattR., both he and the school are defendants in a pending civil lawsuit alleging, among other things, that the school was negligent in not recognizing what was so obvious to so many, and indeed went to great lengths-- including the expulsion of a student whistleblower!-- to protect, it would seem, MattR.'s position as well as the school's reputation. Furthermore, the suit alleges that the Miss Hall's School failed in its duty as a mandated reporter of child abuse.
NOTES:
Legal Age of Consent by state. Blue =16, Olive = 17, and Bright Green = 18.
The legal age of consent varies from state to state from 16 to 18. However, 30 states have enacted "Romeo and Juliet" laws that shield minors from charges of statutory rape for consensual sex if they are close in age.
VANITY FAIR Magazine published this in-depth piece on the Miss Hall's matter. If you don't mind paying to cross their paywall, it is an especially well-researched and well-written read. Worth noting-- For this VANITY FAIR piece and for all other journalism related to this scandal, MattR. has declined to comment.
Meanwhile, in the NFL--
Placekicker Justin Tucker of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens
SCANDAL # 2: Accusations Emerge about the NFL's All-Time Greatest Kicker
Baltimore Ravens placekicker Justin Tucker is a once-in-a-generation talent who has long seemed destined for enshrinement in the NFL Hall of Fame... a rare honor for a pure kicker. During the first twelve seasons of his pro career he not only kicked the longest field goal in NFL history (66 yards), he was also the most accurate, nailing 90% of his three-pointer attempts. However, his production and accuracy sharply declined in the 2024 season... and then, during the playoffs, reports suddenly emerged from multiple masseuses that he had engaged in sexually inappropriate behavior on the massage tables of several high-end Baltimore-area spas a decade before.
These accusations were shocking to those of us who have followed Tucker's professional career. After all, he had established a pristine reputation both on and off the field as a model citizen-- a church-going catholic so staunchly devout that he makes the sign of the cross before every kick attempt; a classically-trained bass-baritone who sings opera in seven languages; and a devoted husband, father, and all-around good guy. Unlike former Miss Hall's teacher MattR., Tucker has publicly and forcefully denied the accusations against him, labeling them "unequivocally false."
SO-- what do these two scandals have in common? For one thing, difficult-to-prove allegations of misdeeds that occurred long ago... the old "he said, she said" quandary. In the Miss Hall's Case, the accusers appear to have ample receipts in the form of real-time witnesses, photos, text messages, and more. That MattR. has declined all interviews and has essentially gone into hiding might rightly be considered the behavior of a guilty person.
But the Justin Tucker case at present seems much less clear.
Many decades ago, your Grumpy Old Mansplainer was an NCAA punter and kicker; and then, after that, an NCAA kicking coach. Based on that experience, I watched with concern as the normally deadly-accurate Justin Tucker repeatedly missed easy kicks this past season, and I wondered-- was he injured? Placekicking puts tremendous stress on the human body from the abs to the toes... which likely explains the artificial hip on my kicking leg. At 6'1" and 185 lbs., Tucker is wispy of build for a modern NFL kicker, and the slightest damage to any of the numerous muscles and tendons involved in the mechanics of kicking could significantly disrupt his rhythm and precision.
It is also possible that after four seasons in the NCAA and a dozen in the NFL, Tucker's leg is simply worn out, much as every Major League pitcher eventually loses his fastball. But while big-league hurlers can prolong their careers by flummoxing batters with their accumulated craftiness and guile, there is no such substitute in football for long-range kicking accuracy. And so what might Tucker's precipitous decline in 2024 have to do with the uncannily sudden slew of tawdry allegations? I can think of two possibilities:
THE MENTAL ASPECT
Successful placekicking requires both certain physical attributes and literally thousands of hours of practice. It also entails a significant mental aspect, much like that among professional golfers-- the ability to completely tune out the rest of the world while operating with exact precision... often under extreme pressure. It is therefore reasonable to surmise, then, that perhaps Justin Tucker is guilty AND knew that the allegations were inexorably working their way toward public exposure... creating enough of a stressful distraction to compromise his focus.
But given the seemingly unlikely coincidence of Tucker's sudden sharp decline and the sudden allegations, maybe there's also another, downright sinister possibility. I hate to think this is even possible, but here goes...
FOLLOW THE MONEY
Top NFL kickers-- including Justin Tucker-- receive an average salary of approximately $6 million per year. NFL contracts usually stipulate a specific portion of salary that is guaranteed. (See HERE for a quick explanation of NFL pay and salary guarantees.) Tucker is currently halfway through a four-year, $24,000,000 contract with the Baltimore Ravens, including $5,500,000 signing bonus, $17,500,000 guaranteed money, and an average annual salary of $6,000,000. His contract is currently the third-richest among NFL kickers... and yet in the 2024 season he ranked among the very worst (only 73%) in field goal accuracy. On its face, the remainder of this pay package might seem like a tremendous waste of his team's finite salary money... especially when Tucker's new-found inaccuracy likely cost them perhaps two victories in their quest for the highest possible playoff seed. (See HERE.)
So... let's don our tin-foil hats for a moment. Maybe Justin Tucker is now too injured, perhaps permanently, to perform at the level that had justified his lucrative contract. And, as outrageous as this sounds, maybe someone connected to his team is orchestrating a smear campaign to get him off the team and thus out of his contract. It would be very sad indeed if such a conspiracy turned out to be true... and yet it would also be very sad if it turns out that Baltimore's staunch catholic, opera-singing, family-prioritizing placekicker not only behaved like a absolute scumbag toward women, but then also lied to the world about it.
* * * * * * *
These two cases raise a recurring question: should we "believe all women" when it comes to allegations of sexual misconduct? It would certainly make things much simpler if we could. However, there are enough instances of alleged victims bearing false witness-- most notably the Duke Lacrosse Case and the Tawana Brawley Matter-- for us to consider such accusations uniformly truthful. We should certainly take all such allegations seriously until proven otherwise. In the Miss Hall's School case, the accusers seem to have ample evidence to support their testimony; in the Justin Tucker case, not so much as of yet.
That the age of consent in Massachusetts is only sixteen cries out for new legislation. A law like this might help to protect teenagers from sexual abuse and exploitation--
Sexual relations between persons under the age of eighteen and adults in positions of direct or indirect authority over said minors-- including but not limited to teachers, school administrators, athletic coaches, caregivers, medical personnel, clergy, and anyone acting in loco parentis-- shall not be construed ipso facto as consensual.
And finally, I found a way to reach out to both HilaryS. and MelissaF. and shared a story with them from my days as a restaurant manager, a message I hope they find useful--
Back in the late 1990's I was managing a restaurant in the Berkshires. We were fancy enough to attract an upscale tourist clientele in the summer, which was disproportionately Jewish. One night a 3-generation party of seven came in-- kids in their teens, their parents, and a grandpa whose short-sleeve shirt left exposed the serial number tattooed on his forearm by nazi concentration camp guards half a century before. One of the teens was embarrassed-- "Mom, PLEASE tell Grandpa to cover that up!" But the old man shrugged and simply said, "I didn't put it there." I immediately understood that such emblems of abuse are not ours to shamefully hide from the world, but rather battle badges that indicate what some of us have had to endure.
HilaryS. and MelissaF. seem to me like extremely courageous women of whom Miss Hall's School should be proud. I wish them success in their pursuit of justice. As for Justin Tucker, I hope the truth-- whatever it is-- emerges from the murkiness for all to see.
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