The Kansas City Chiefs have become one of the trendiest teams to support in the NFL – but their latest signing has led to an uncomfortable conversation that, to a growing number, is overdue.

On Wednesday, the Chiefs signed scandalized kicker, 36, to their practice squad amid Harrison Butker's recent struggles on the field, which include five missed field goal attempts in five games. 

The decision, however, was met with swift backlash given Tucker's controversial past, having previously been embroiled in a sexual misconduct scandal.

Tucker, who is married, was accused in January 2025 of sexual misconduct by 16 massage therapists across spas and wellness centers in the Baltimore area. He denied any wrongdoing and never faced any criminal charges. But the NFL suspended him for ten games for violating its personal conduct policy after an investigation. Tucker did not appeal.

While Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has prided himself on giving second chances to embattled stars, some fans are now asking whether enough is enough.

On Wednesday, Reid was asked directly what message that the signing of a scandalized star such as Tucker sends to the team's female fans. 

During a five-minute questioning, the Chiefs head coach told reporters: 'He's done his suspension. Took care of his business there. I'll leave it at that.'

Reid later added: 'We try to do our homework the best way we possibly can. We talked to a lot of people to make sure that things are OK.

'I try to do homework on it and see exactly what's taken place since. The kid... he served a suspension. There's been time involved with it, so that's how I evaluate it.'

Reid repeatedly declined to go further when pressed on the allegations, returning each time to the suspension and the team's background checks. Instead, he framed it as a football decision. 

According to ESPN, the Chiefs worked out three kickers, including ex-Rams star Harrison Mevis, before Tucker landed the spot.

'He did really well. He did a nice job with it,' Reid said of Tucker's tryout, before throwing support behind Butker. 'Harrison, we love. He's one of my favorite guys.

'Sometimes things don't go quite the way you want them and you work on that,' he continued. 'We had a practice squad position open, and so for security, we brought [Tucker] in.'

Asked about the impact that Tucker's signing may have on the Chiefs locker room, Reid said: 'I've got a good locker room, first of all. They get it. We don't have a lot of secrets from the guys, so we keep trying to be honest with them.'

However, one player who may need convincing is Kelce, who clashed with Tucker during warm-ups before the 2024 AFC Championship game in Baltimore.

The tight end accused Tucker of deliberately leaving his helmet, footballs and kicking tee where Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was warming up, and responded by moving them out of the way himself.

Speaking on his New Heights podcast at the time, Kelce branded Tucker a 'f***ing d***' for breaking – what he described as – one of the game's unwritten rules.

'The Ravens have their side of the field and the Chiefs have our side of the field. If you're trying to go onto the other team's designated area, you stay out of their way.

'Guys are looking left and they've got a helmet down by their feet,' Kelce added. 'If you're not going to pick that up, I'll happily move that for you.'

He acknowledged Tucker had insisted it was a 'joking gesture,' but said he and Mahomes 'just weren't in a joking mood' and were 'ready to get after it.'

'Justin, sorry if we took it to a level that you didn't think it would get to, but if you're going to be a d***, I promise you I can one-up you every time, dude,' he said. 'Don't pin me as the bad guy, he was poking the bear.'

That spat looks trivial next to what followed after Tucker was accused by 16 massage therapists from eight spas and wellness centers in the Baltimore area.

He branded the claims 'shocking and heart-breaking' at the time, however, it wasn't enough to prevent the Ravens releasing him in May 2025 after 13 seasons.

In a statement provided to the Daily Mail, attorneys Catherine Dickinson and Michael Belsky, who represent the alleged victims of Tucker, said it was 'somewhat surprising' he had been signed 'given the results of the investigation and the NFL's sanctions.'

'However, our focus is not on him, it is squarely on the bravery of the women that have come forward, and our hope is that their stories are not forgotten,' they added.

Tucker joins a special teams unit that already includes punter Matt Araiza, who was accused in a 2022 civil lawsuit of involvement in the rape of a 17-year-old girl at a California party in 2021. Araiza has denied the allegations.

Prosecutors declined to charge Araiza and he was later dismissed from the suit in an agreement that saw him drop his own defamation case against his accuser.

However, as many female fans have noted, the Chiefs roster has been littered with divisive and controversial figures in years past.  

Wide receiver Tyreek Hill pleaded guilty in 2015 to domestic assault and battery by strangulation involving his pregnant girlfriend, only to be drafted by Kansas City the following year. After a 2019 child-welfare police investigation into an alleged incident at his home, and accusations of abuse from his estranged wife Lakeeta Vaccaro, the Chiefs have remained in contact with the free agent as he recovers from knee surgery, according to ESPN.

Hill has consistently denied wrongdoing with regards the 2019 child-welfare probe, and has rejected some of Vaccaro’s allegations of abuse. The speedster nicknamed ‘Cheetah’ did admit to throwing Vaccaro up against a wall and threatening her.

Similarly, running back Kareem Hunt was released from the team after 2018 footage showed him shoving and kicking a woman in a hotel, only to return to the roster in 2024. 

Meanwhile, Charles Omenihu was signed in 2023, months after being arrested over an allegation he pushed his girlfriend to the ground. He was later suspended for six games by the NFL. 

Wide receiver Rashee Rice was accused in a civil lawsuit filed this year of repeatedly abusing his former girlfriend. The NFL found insufficient evidence of a conduct policy breach, though the lawsuit is ongoing. Rice has not publicly commented, but his attorney, Sean Lindsey, said in February: 'We will allow the legal process to run its course and will have no further comment at this time.'

Wide receiver Xavier Worthy was arrested in 2025 on a domestic assault allegation, though prosecutors declined to pursue charges. 

Butker himself remains divisive after a 2024 commencement speech at Benedictine College, in which he suggested women should prioritize being stay-at-home mothers over having careers.

In a statement to the Daily Mail after the signing of Tucker, Jennifer Mondino, director of the TIME'S UP Legal Defense Fund at the National Women's Law Center, said the group stands 'in solidarity with the brave survivors who come forward.'

'Large corporations like the NFL have a deep history in sweeping harassment and violence under the rug and allowing abuse to continue,' she said. 'We know all too well what happens when there is no accountability.'

She added that cases like Tucker's signing after the allegations are 'all the more reason that the #MeToo movement remains relevant' and that organizations like hers are 'critical in ensuring survivors are heard and given some justice.'