Taking the high road isn’t easy, but it’s always classy.
Detroit Lions receiver Golden Tate showed nothing but class on Monday responding to some accusations from Percy Harvin regarding the Seattle Seahawks. Harvin told Tyler Dunne of the Buffalo News that Tate and Doug Baldwin got under his skin and that they “were acting like kids.”
Tate had a chance to tell his side of the story but didn’t sling any mud back at Harvin. Instead, he showed restraint and maturity while debunking any notion that he harbored any jealousy when the Seahawks brought Harvin aboard.
“Once he came to the Seahawks, actually, [general manager] John Schneider called me and Pete Carroll called me and told me it wasn’t going to affect my role,” Tate said (h/t ESPN). “So I left it at that. There was never any jealousy on my end.
“I was excited to get him on the field with us. I think his role in Seattle and my role in Seattle were different, so there was no need for me to be jealous.”
Tate also said he believes he and Harvin just have “a misunderstanding” and said he was a “bit surprised” by his old teammate’s comments.
It seems in this case that Tate is the one being mature about anything that may have occurred during Harvin’s tenure with Seattle. By all accounts, Tate has been nothing but a professional, and a leader, for the Lions since joining the team as a free agent in 2014.