The Kicker, the Masseuses, and the Price of Doing Sports Journalism

In January, the Baltimore Banner released an investigation into the star kicker of the Baltimore Ravens, in which multiple women accused him of sexually inappropriate behavior during massages, dating back years. (The player denies the accusations.)

It was an example of a rare kind of journalism these days: hard-hitting accountability reporting on sports. Over the past several years, numerous investigative sports outlets have folded, replaced largely by soft-focused content produced by players and teams themselves.

Small, community-based publications like the Banner face the highest toll for doing this kind of work—boxed out of access from teams, they risk losing a pivotal connection they have with subscribers. But Chris Korman, the paper’s sports editor, says it’s worth it anyway.

Read more:

*The Banner’s investigation into Ravens kicker Justin Tucker

*From the CJR archives: Can sports journalism survive in the era of the athlete? (2024)

Hosted by Josh Hersh
Produced by Amanda Darrach