Reactions, Notes On Golden Tate’s Suspension

Shortly after the news broke that Giants wide receiver Golden Tate was set to be suspended for four games, the veteran took to Twitter to offer an explanation.

“This past April, during the off-season, my wife and I decided to see a specialist for fertility planning. I started the treatment prescribed to me and just days later I discovered it contained an ingredient that is on the league’s banned substance list. I immediately discontinued use, I reported the situation to the Independent Administrator of the NFL Policy on Performance-Enhancing Substances, and I spoke with my coaches and general manager. I did all of this well before a failed test was even confirmed.

Per NFL protocol, an initial suspension was imminent, but myself and the Giants organization are confident in the facts, and eagerly await my appeal to put this behind us.

During the entirety of my 10 year career I have taken great pride in playing this game the right way, have been an ambassador for the NFL and have never had any issue with the league’s policy. The treatment this past April had no effect on the upcoming season, and I did not, and could not have undergone this treatment in April for any competitive advantage. I deeply appreciate the support from the New York Giants Organization, and will continue to hold the highest level of character and integrity, while being a leader in the locker room.

In respect to the team and my teammates I won’t be speaking on this again until after the appeal. I’m focusing on football, and will not let this be a distraction.”

Tate surely sounds confident in his argument, and we heard earlier that the receiver had high hopes for the appeals process.

Let’s check out some more notes and reactions following Tate’s ban:

  • Speaking of the appeal, the meeting is set to take place in early August, tweets ESPN’s Adam Schefter. That means the team will have some clarity on Tate’s availability for the start of the regular season.
  • If the suspension is upheld, Tate would lose around $1.75MM in 2019 money, tweets Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. Perhaps more importantly, the receiver would forfeit his $7.975MM in 2020 guarantees. Tate signed a four-year, $37MM deal with the Giants this past winter.
  • Last offseason, the Giants signed defensive end Josh Mauro with the understanding that he was facing a four-game suspension. That wasn’t the case this time around, as Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com tweets that the Giants only learned of the impending suspension after inking Tate in March (which makes sense considering the timeline detailed in Tate’s tweet).
  • We learned earlier today that the Giants would be hosting a workout for free agent wideouts, and it sounds like a signing is pending. Head coach Pat Shurmur said the team would likely be added a receiver at some point today (via NFL.com’s Adam Maya). Following Tate’s suspension and injuries to Sterling Shepard and Corey Coleman, the Giants current depth chart consists of of Cody LatimerBennieFowlerRussell Shepard and Darius Slayton.
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