Getty Golden Tate #15 of the New York Giants runs drill at NY Giants Quest Diagnostics Training Center.
After a handful of days littered with controversy, a benching and an injury scare, Golden Tate finally met with reporters on Friday to open up about his recent slew of transgressions. In his first public appearance since shouting to Monday Night Football cameras to “throw me the ball!” the New York Giants wideout addressed a handful of lingering questions, including whether or not he was trying to force his way out of town at the trade deadline.
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‘No, I Wouldn’t Say I Was Trying to Get Traded’
“I love this organization, to be honest,” Tate proclaimed. “I love everything that it stands for, and I want to do my part and help us win any way I can.”
“I believe in this organization and I believe in where they’re heading. I believe in the people they’re bringing in to be a part of this. I’m thankful that I have an opportunity to be a part of it,” Tate said. “I just know that I’m excited to be a part of it now and hopefully I can do my part to get us to where we want to be.”
Tate went even further, committing himself to the organization for as long as they will have him.
“I plan to honor my contract the best I possibly can,” Tate stated. “Like I said earlier, I want to be here. I love this organization, what it represents and the direction we’re headed in, and hopefully I’m a part of it.”
Tate Shoulders the Blame
In terms of his tirade that led to his benching, Tate took full responsibility for his actions, which the 32-year-old deemed “unacceptable.”
“I was definitely disappointed, but there are consequences for your actions,” Tate said. “My actions were unacceptable, and I apologized to the team, GM, the coaches, the offense, and I’m excited to move forward.”
“If you know me and you know my game, I play with a lot of emotion and a lot of passion. I got caught up in the moment,” Tate admitted. “I was wrong to draw attention to myself and I take full responsibility for that. I handled it the wrong way and brought negative attention to our organization. It won’t happen again.”
Tate later added, “But I did have fun on scout team. That was fun. I enjoyed it. Got a chance to make some plays and get the defense ready. I enjoyed it.”
The wideout notably simulated Washington wideout Terry McLaurin on the scout team during last week’s practice.
Golden Tate, with 112 career starts on his resume, spending this Friday on the scout team playing Washington WR Terry McLaurin.
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Tate Backs His Wife
Golden has been far from the only member of the Tate family growing aggravated with the wideout’s lack of touches this season. His wife Elise notably put the Giants on blast via Instagram during the team’s Week 8 Tampa Bay Buccaneers game for their inability, or rather unwillingness, to utilize her husband.
Tate addressed his wife’s actions with the media:
“In my wife’s defense, she is and will always be my biggest fan,” Tate said. “I disagree with her taking it public, but I will always have her back. I know that she was, in her mind, protecting me, and she was calling it how she saw it without having spoken to me or understood what had happened prior to that.”
“It’s unfortunate that we drew collectively this type of attention to our organization when we’re trying to win ball games.” Tate continued, “I felt the need to apologize to this organization for drawing that negative attention, and also my body language on the field. From here on, we don’t have to worry about that ever again.”
Tate is set to make his return to the gridiron this Sunday against his former team, the Philadelphia Eagles, in what is a huge game for a Giants team still somehow in the playoff hunt.
While we can go back and forth debating how much of a step Tate has truly lost, there’s no denying he’s still one of the better playmakers on the Giants roster. Tate has hauled in just three receptions over his past two games, two of those receptions have gone for touchdowns.
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