Let’s make something clear: The NFL doesn’t hand out suspensions without a reason.

Justin Tucker can claim that nothing happened all he wants. He can say he sticks by his previous statements that The Baltimore Banner’s reporting of 16 massage therapists who accused him of inappropriate behavior is “desperate tabloid fodder” and full of “journalistic failures at every turn.”

But, in the wake of the NFL giving him a 10-week suspension, we see what Tucker’s words are worth.

On Thursday, a long-awaited punishment for the most accurate kicker in NFL history came down from the league, knocking him out for the first 10 weeks of the coming season without pay. It’s just one week fewer than quarterback Deshaun Watson received when he was found in violation of the same league personal conduct policy in 2022.

It’s clear the Ravens’ decision to cut Tucker was prudent, because, even if they had stood by him, he wasn’t going to be able to play for most of this season (although I will forever contend that labeling this a “football reason” is laughable and a deliberately convenient misnomer).

The NFL will never release a report of the findings of its investigation — witness statements, electronic records, etc. — because it’s a league that is fundamentally allergic to paperwork holding anyone publicly accountable. But with Tucker’s suspension you can safely assume the investigators found something compelling for which to punish him, especially because his punishment is longer than the six-week standard.

Tucker’s claims of complete innocence and bafflement over these accusations never held water — and they certainly shouldn’t now.

If he never did any of the things all these therapists accused him of, there’s no reason he shouldn’t fight to the ends of the Earth to clean his formerly pristine image. But his agent, Robert Roche, said in a statement: “In order to put this difficult episode behind him and get back on the field as soon as possible, we have advised Justin to accept this resolution and close this matter.”

Notably, declining to appeal prevents parts of the NFL’s investigation from becoming public (the disciplinary officer’s findings are released), potentially protecting Tucker from more graphic details from his accusers reaching fans.

I guess there was something to this story after all.

The idea that a local media outlet would take gleeful delight in tearing down a beloved local figure without rock-solid sourcing is inherently flawed. If anything, the idea that Tucker — who was elevated into one of the Baltimore area’s foremost citizens and renaissance men — could have done this was saddening.

The Banner’s reporting had to withstand the threat of legal action by Tucker’s high-priced lawyers, who raised the possibility of a defamation suit before one word about the accusations was ever published.

It is clear now that Tucker will never truly apologize to these women for what they’ve alleged he put them through.

He already trotted out a feeble “I did nothing wrong but sorry you were offended” defense in February.

Now, given another chance to acknowledge his behavior went far beyond some sort of unfortunate misunderstanding, Tucker is again avoiding responsibility.

He will never validate the discomfort and disgust the therapists felt. He will never admit it was wrong. He’ll continue to hide behind his “important lifetime roles as a father, husband, and friend,” as if any of those things excuses one’s inability to act appropriately behind closed doors.

As the attorneys for the massage therapists told The Banner: “It would have been simple for Mr. Tucker many months ago to have apologized and acknowledged wrongdoing. Instead Mr. Tucker insisted on falsely attacking the credibility of the victims and only further victimizing them. This was completely unnecessary and should not be acceptable.”

Instead of accepting accountability when the accusations came to light, Tucker thought being adversarial and calling everyone liars was the best and easiest route. He figured he could simply shoot down the women and the outlet that dared expose his sordid past and ride his legacy as a Super Bowl winner and charismatic charmer out of the storm.

How much harder would it have been to just say “I’m sorry”?

This might be as far as the investigation leads. Maybe Tucker even plays in the NFL again — we know plenty of teams are willing to look past histories of unsavory conduct if it helps them win football games.

But we don’t have to forget how poorly Tucker, formerly one of Baltimore’s beloved sports heroes, handled the moment when his past came back to bite him.

Until the day when he finally accepts accountability for what happened all those years ago, we don’t need to forgive him, either.