Golden Tate wrote a first-person piece about the relationship between athletes in the media, and in the piece he dispelled two rumors about himself.
In his long-form piece for The Cauldron, the two rumors Tate denied are that he slept with Russell Wilson’s ex-wife, Ashton, and that Percy Harvin gave him a black eye last year.
Here is what the current Detroit Lions WR/former Seahawks WR had to say:
I did not have an affair with Russell Wilson’s wife, nor did I have anything to do with his divorce. That is laughable for anyone who knows us. His ex-wife, Ashton, is still best friends with my girlfriend. Russell and I were good friends when I was in Seattle, on and off the field — he knows the rumors about me were unfounded, damaging to my reputation, and an attack on my character. Anyone who circulated that rumor was just plain irresponsible.
There was also a social media frenzy concerning me and Percy Harvin. To set the record straight, I was not punched by Percy during Super Bowl week last year, nor did I have a black eye, as was speculated on by various Internet reports. I even saw a photo of my face that was photoshopped with a mark on it! Percy and I did have a confrontation, yes, but no punches were thrown, and it certainly never rose to the level that was erroneously reported by certain outlets. I highly respect his level of play. He’s one of the best in the game!
The rumors about an alleged affair between Tate and Wilson were circumstantial; Tate signed with another team while Wilson filed for divorced last offseason. They were flimsy and not based on any actual facts. But this is a trend that starts with fans and irresponsible websites — any time a top player is traded, some start rumors saying it is because teammates were fighting over a girl or one player had an affair with another player’s wife. Maybe that scenario actually happens here and there, but not EVERY time as some folks on the ‘net would like you to believe.
As for the Percy Harvin rumor, we were one of the sites that perpetuated the report. The report came from a credible source and there were multiple reports about Harvin having problems with teammates, so it’s not as if a report about a fight was unsubstantiated. Oh, and then you have the fact that Michael Robinson, who used to play for the Seahawks and now works in the media, saying there was an altercation and that he broke it up. Perhaps the black eye detail was wrong, but it’s confirmed Tate and Harvin had a serious fight before the Super Bowl. And none of this changes that Harvin was a questionable teammate.
