New York (AFP) – New York Giants wide receiver Golden Tate said Saturday he is appealing a four-game doping suspension from the NFL after testing positive for a banned substance in a fertility drug.
Tate, who turns 31 on Friday, said in a statement posted on social media that he is fighting the punishment and admitted his violation to NFL officials upon seeing the drug was banned before his positive test was known.
“This past April, during the off-season, my wife and I decided to see a specialist for fertility planning,” Tate posted in a statement on Twitter.
“I started the treatment prescribed to me and just days later I discovered it contained an ingredient that is contained on the league’s banned substance list. I immediately discontinued use.”
Tate, a 2014 Super Bowl winner with Seattle, said he reported the situation to the NFL’s administrator of its banned substance policy and told Giants coach Pat Shurmur and general manager Dave Gettleman of the situation.
“I did all of this well before a failed test was even confirmed,” Tate said.
“Per NFL protocol, a suspension was imminent but myself and the Giants organization are confident in the facts and eagerly await my appeal to put this behind us.”
The NFL’s policy, however, specifically states that players are responsible for whatever is found inside their body whether or not they knowingly ingest a banned substance.
Tate’s appeal is set for August 6 with the receiver hoping to be cleared in time for the season opener in September.
Tate would miss Giants games at Dallas and Tampa Bay and at home against Buffalo and Washington if the ban is imposed, eligible to come back ahead of the Giants’ October 6 home game against Minnesota.
Tate’s loss is another blow to a set of receivers that was weakened in the off-season when Odell Beckham Jr. was traded to the Cleveland Browns, a move that helped inspire the Giants to sign Tate a four-year deal worth $37.5 million.
In nine NFL seasons, Tate has caught 611 passes for 7,214 yards and 38 touchdowns. Last season with Detroit and Philadelphia, Tate caught 74 passes after having made 90 or more receptions in each of the prior four seasons in Detroit.
The Giants have already lost receiver Corey Coleman to a torn knee ligament that might sideline him for the entire 2019 campaign and receiver Sterling Shepard to a broken thumb.
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