I’m not making any secret of my disdain for the National Football League. I’ve had it with the circus that it’s become. I also won’t hesitate to stand behind my opinion that since betting became a huge part of professional sports, some games have been fixed. If not by the league, then at least by players who drop passes, fumble the ball or miss easy field goals.

I’ve seen linebackers fall down on plays which, it honestly looks like they had a runner for a tackle that was missed, and it looked genuinely comical, so lame that it seemed obvious that they just fell down.

I’m equally sick of all the scandals in the league. Players beating their wives,  one of which was recorded dragging her, unconscious, from an elevator or subway car (I don’t remember which, nor does it matter to me because she’s just as unconscious either way).

Domestic abuse, illegal substance use, involvement in shootings, dog fighting, it’s all there. Pete Rose was kept from coaching and refused admission to the Baseball Hall of Fame because he was betting on games.

That seems petty now, with the things professional athletes get away with.

That said, now we have Justin Tucker, a place kicker for the Baltimore Ravens, being accused of sexually inappropriate behavior with a bunch of massage therapists.

Before you leave in rage, remember this: it isn’t just one therapist in one facility making one accusation.

My view of the situation is that a single accusation by a single person may be false or impossible to prove. Two, three or more, in different facilities, is a situation that I absolutely do not discount whatsoever.

Reports have it that in multiple places across Baltimore City, some have banned him from returning, while some therapists have refused to work with him again. That’s serious, and it tells me that the man is sick, because unsolicited sexual actions are criminal and leave behind a victim who is probably traumatized.

Massage therapists have to go to schools to be certified. They work hard. They’re motivated to help others while trying to earn a living wage. They don’t enter the profession to engage in sex acts. The very idea is disrespectful and disgusting.

There is an abundance of porn on the Internet that would make one think it happens all the time, but folks, that’s porn. Not real life.

In sports medicine, physical therapy may involve any variety of things, including massage. It gets blood flowing to the injured tissue, and relieves swelling and pain, thus speeding the healing process as well as reducing discomfort.

So when a swath has been cut across a city, leaving therapists who don’t want to work for you again, or whole clinics banning you from their premises, you’ve obviously done exactly what they say you have.

The Ravens are “investigating” which fails to make me feel warm and fuzzy. I’d prefer law enforcement do it, but big money is on the line. In the end, what will most likely happen is a few payoffs. Then everyone hushes up.

What I would like to see is justice.

If you want to know the worst part, it’s this: Tucker missed some pretty easy field goals last season, and they’ve drafted another kicker. If they can’t defend Tucker, he’ll be cut. It would be grounds to sever his contractual provisions, leaving him out of work.

I rather doubt that will happen. This is the NFL we’re talking about. Big money and a gambling industry that will never go back to the real sport or the days of men playing for pure love of the sport. Those days were over a very long time ago.