Golden Tate opens up about his unsuccessful suspension appeal

Giants receiver Golden Tate isn’t happy that his appeal of a four-game league-imposed suspension for violating the policy on PEDs was denied.

But rather than hide and sulk, Tate faced the media and said that while he doesn’t like the decision, he’s made peace with it.

“It’s very frustrating. I have no problem with accepting the punishment,” Tate said Wednesday.

“I’m responsible for what’s put into my body, ultimately. The tough thing I am dealing with is I’m letting down a lot of people. My family, the guys in the locker room, the people in the organization that brought me here. That’s kind of what’s been crushing me with this whole situation.”

Tate revealed that the banned substance he consumed that triggered the positive test results was Clomiphene. While typically used to treat female reproduction issues, the medication, available via a doctor’s prescription, can also assist males with increasing their fertility.

Unfortunately for Tate, after being reassured by the doctor that the medication was not part of the NFL’s banned list of substances, the receiver said he found out otherwise and immediately reported what had happened in the hopes of receiving some leniency from the league after his positive test.

“Initially, the doctor said it was not a banned substance. In fact, he had given it to other NFL players, which is why I trusted it and kept living my life.

“I was out to dinner one night with a guy who worked for me, and he started talking about another player who was getting suspended for something completely different.

“A light went off in my head, and I said, ‘Let me call the doctor to make sure, to make myself feel better.’ I asked him what the active ingredient was, and he looked it up right then and there, and sure enough, it was a banned substance.”

Tate was grateful for the support he has received from the Giants and from his teammates and friends and admits that sitting out the first four games will be difficult.

“Although these times are very, very hard on me because I love this game and I take it very, very seriously. I think I’ve had a clean slate for the majority of my career,” he said.

But thanks to his wife, Elise, who put the whole incident into perspective, Tate said the sting has eased if just a little.

“She said I played 182 games in my career. Four games is a small part of that,” he said.

“Although right now it’s very hard to swallow and hard to deal with, she put it into perspective.”

While he’s serving his suspension, Tate said he’s going to do as much as he can as though he were allowed to be with his teammates, so he is ready for his Giants debut.

“I’m going to get with (Strength and Conditioning) Coach (Aaron) Wellman and get an intense workout plan or something that allows me to stay in tip-top shape so once I get back in Week 5, I can hit the ground running,” he said.

“Like every year, you kind of use camp to get in shape for the season. I have to come in that Monday after the fourth game ready to rock and roll.

“Again, this is all new to me, and I was expecting not to have this suspension, but I am going to deal with it. I’m going to deal with it the best I possibly can, stay positive and continue to try to lead this team and just work through it.”