New England Patriots draft pick will ‘cover up’ right-wing tattoo
Justin Rohrwasser hadn’t been a member of the New England Patriots for longer than a couple of hours before he started causing controversy. The kicker was drafted in the fifth round of the NFL Draft on Saturday after converting 18 out of 21 field goals including a 53-yarder in his final season at Marshall. He also hit 35 of his 36 extra point attempts.
However, following the draft it wasn’t exactly Rohrwasser’s play on the field that everyone was talking about. Many on social media were quick to point out the 23-year-old had a tattoo that symbolized a right-wing militia group known as The Three Percenters. The group gets their name from the estimated three percent of colonists who had agreed to take up arms against the British.
Despite the ink, Rohrwasser was quick to disassociate himself from the group claiming he had no idea that it had been a symbol of theirs.
“I got that tattoo when I was a teenager and I have a lot of family in the military. I thought it stood for a military-support symbol at the time,” the youngster told reporters during a conference call following his selection.
“Obviously, it’s evolved into something that I do not want to represent. When I look back on it, I should have done way more research before I put any mark or symbol like that on my body, and it’s not something I ever want to represent. It will be covered.”
Rohrwasser made it clear he was willing to get the tattoo covered up, which would be the smart decision heading into his rookie season. The kicker was selected to take over for veteran Stephen Gostkowski who had been released by the Patriots in March and the last thing he will want is for controversy to follow him so early in his career.
The kicker is coming off an impressive season with Marshall where he was named Conference USA Player of the Year. He spent the first two seasons in the NCAA with the University of Rhode Island where he hit 75% of his field goals and 98% of his extra points.
Despite being selected in the fifth-round, Rohrwasser was the sixth player taken off the board by New England as they had multiple picks in the second and third rounds. He was the first of three place kickers taken in the draft and the only one to go in the fifth round.
The Patriots have clearly decided to build for the future after losing future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency. Letting their long-term kicker Gostkowski go earlier in the year was further proof of that.
The Patriots have won the AFC East for the past 11 consecutive seasons but that could be set to change this year with the emerging Buffalo Bills posing a real threat to New England’s dominance. Coincidentally, it was the Bills who would take the next kicker in the draft – Tyler Bass out of Georgia Southern.
