Seattle Seahawks receiver Golden Tate fully admitted on Wednesday that he fouled Sam Shields of the Green Bay Packers during a controversial game winning endzone reception. Tate admitted that he pushed the defender to the ground before making his catch for the 14-12 victory.

The 24-yard touchdown reception was ruled a fair catch by replacement refs, a call that, while admitted to be wrong by the NFL, the next day was still upheld.

While Tate admits he got away with a foul, he insists he wasn’t trying to cheat:

”I can’t control what other people say or do. I personally felt like I had the ball at that time and looking back just off of what I remember I felt like I had the ball in my hands. We both competed for the ball and the call ended up going our way and won the game. We’re 2-1 now, time to move forward. The Rams are the most important thing right now.”

It was that call that likely led NFL officials to reach a deal with locked out referees so they could return to work in week 4 of the NFL season.

What made the bad play calling worse was that it was called differently by three officials. Side judge Lance Easley called it a touchdown, back judge Derrick Rhone-Dunn waved his arms to stop the clock, and Referee Wayne Elliott wouldn’t make a call and went under the hood before ruling a touchdown following a lousy review of the play.

Unfortunately for Tate, much of the anger that was felt was directed his way. When asked what people said, Tate noted:

”If I mentioned those words it would be bleeps, bleeps, bleeps. Some nasty stuff. It’s mean.”

Tate’s play came under close scrutiny because of a big block he put on Dallas linebacker Sean Lee the week prior. That block drew Golden Tate a $21,000 fine, which he is currently appealing.

Seattle Seahawks Receiver Golden Tate Admits To Fouling Sam Shields During Controversial Win is a post from: The Inquisitr