RD5 #13/#159: K Justin Rohrwasser, Marshall

Ed Hillel

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For now, I want to see how this plays out and if he actually gets the 3% tattoo covered with other ink.
Maybe I’m wrong, but it actually looks to me like he tried to have one near his neck/chestline removed, but it’s still visible and faded. Either that, or it’s a weird chest hair strip. If it’s the former, I’m sure we’ll learn about it soon. I’d like to learn more if it’s the latter, too, honestly.
 

RetractableRoof

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There's a lot of um... noise in here.

With respect to the draft, and him being a reach or whatever... isn't that BB's MO? He values certainty (or as close to it as he can come) in most anything he designs. It's why he doesn't like freelancing players. It's why he doesn't usually employ backs that aren't North South runners. It's why he gets confused with the grim reaper when people fumble. It's why he invests in his special teams in ways that other teams don't. Higher than normal draft picks on special teams players (Gostkowski was a 4th rounder, and people dumped on BB for reaching on him as well). Using name players on ST (for better or worse: Edelman, Sanu, Gronk). He puts a priority on ST to gain an edge in general, but pays a premium for them so that when planning he can have as much certainty in that aspect of the game as is reasonably possible. To be honest, I'm surprised he waited to grab a kicker until the 5th round. I have no idea if this kid works out, but as I've said on a few of this years picks - if BB liked him enough to reach for him, that's a good sign - regardless of the actual outcome.

As to the other stuff, don't we have better things to do with our time than sit around dissecting the body art/social media accounts of kids that are just out of college? I can personally say I was a decent teenager (don't ask my mom though!), who made a bunch/series of mistakes that I was fortunate enough to not get caught doing. I'm pretty sure that in college I did things I'd not want available on video/social media. I was fortunate enough to not memorialize them in body art, but that doesn't make me any better than someone who did. YMMV
 
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burstnbloom

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Jul 12, 2005
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As an aging punk, this reminds me of all the guys who have Skrewdriver t-shirts but only liked them "before they were racist."

The III% movement was never anything but what it is. This guy is what, 22, 23? "Back when I was a teenager" is doing a lot of work here for something that happened in 2016 (when the 3% guys were sending reinforcements to the Bundy camp in Oregon).
Good analogy. It's exactly that.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Oct 1, 2015
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“He has some explaining to do.” To whom does this kid owe an explanation? His potential employer, yes, and presumably he’s already given it to their satisfaction.
Who else has the right to an explanation? I get that we may WANT one but are we OWED one?

That’s an honest question.

(I’ll add that I know absolutely nothing about what constitutes racist symbols aside from the swastika and confederate flag. Like...zero.)
 

Cellar-Door

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So if he got this in high school that is what 2015 or before? I will say, at that point the biggest national attention they had gotten was for sending idiots with guns to stand outside recruitment centers after the recrutiment center shooting in TN and the Fox News outrage that service members were not permitted to carry weapons at these mall/strip mall recruitment centers. While stupid, I can see that being exactly the kind of thing a highschool kid thought was awesome and got tattooed on himself.

Of course, this could all be him realizing this is bad for his public image now that he's in the NFL, but it's not a totally implausible explanation.
 

Marciano490

Urological Expert
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Nov 4, 2007
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Isn’t the point less about when he got it than the fact he kept it despite people likely pointing it out to me.

Like when I was 15-16 I got an ohm tattoo because I thought it looked cool despite not really understanding it. But over the next few years enough people quizzed me on it that I got it covered.
 

Ed Hillel

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“He has some explaining to do.” To whom does this kid owe an explanation? His potential employer, yes, and presumably he’s already given it to their satisfaction.
Who else has the right to an explanation? I get that we may WANT one but are we OWED one?
I’d say more the team than him, but his explanation is intrinsically linked to that. I mean you really can’t draft a guy sporting a tat of a neo nazi group’s symbol and not expect this kind of thing. Call it a sign of the times, I guess, though we can debate if that makes this better or worse times.

Part of the reason a fan can be upset, btw, is the potential impact on the team, chemistry, etc. Belief that a guy sporting that shit can lead to worse results on the field. So it doesn’t need to solely be a focus on the issue itself.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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I’d say more the team than him, but his explanation is intrinsically linked to that. I mean you really can’t draft a guy sporting a tat of a neo nazi group’s symbol and not expect this kind of thing. Call it a sign of the times, I guess, though we can debate if that makes this better or worse times.

Part of the reason a fan can be upset, btw, is the potential impact on the team, chemistry, etc. Belief that a guy sporting that shit can lead to worse results on the field. So it doesn’t need to solely be a focus on the issue itself.
Well isn’t that what employers are supposed to figure out? He owes answers to the people who may want to hire him. Not us.

Just my two cents. YMMV.
 

Oppo

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Assuming that a 3%er you’ve never even heard of before is a card carrying member of the KKK and a neo nazi is just another form of racism/discrimination.
 

mauf

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“He has some explaining to do.” To whom does this kid owe an explanation? His potential employer, yes, and presumably he’s already given it to their satisfaction.
Who else has the right to an explanation? I get that we may WANT one but are we OWED one?

That’s an honest question.

(I’ll add that I know absolutely nothing about what constitutes racist symbols aside from the swastika and confederate flag. Like...zero.)
Fans and teammates will form opinions of this kid based on what he says, and what he doesn’t. And he’s a kicker — the club will cut their losses before they tolerate a lot of crap on this kid’s account.

He doesn’t owe anyone an explanation, but he’s also not owed a roster spot. If he wants that, I think he’ll have some explaining to do.
 

RetractableRoof

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Fans and teammates will form opinions of this kid based on what he says, and what he doesn’t. And he’s a kicker — the club will cut their losses before they tolerate a lot of crap on this kid’s account.

He doesn’t owe anyone an explanation, but he’s also not owed a roster spot. If he wants that, I think he’ll have some explaining to do.
Don't you think by virtue of being drafted by the Pats he's already done that to whatever degree his potential employer has asked him to? I can't imagine that Bill watched tape/content of this kid and a) missed the tattoos b) didn't have someone check into them or ask the kid about them
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Fans and teammates will form opinions of this kid based on what he says, and what he doesn’t. And he’s a kicker — the club will cut their losses before they tolerate a lot of crap on this kid’s account.

He doesn’t owe anyone an explanation, but he’s also not owed a roster spot. If he wants that, I think he’ll have some explaining to do.
He has to explain to BB and RK if they want one. He owes us nothing and his roster spot isn’t on the line if he doesn’t tell the public a single thing. Unless, of course, BB or RK tell him he needs to.
 

mauf

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He has to explain to BB and RK if they want one. He owes us nothing and his roster spot isn’t on the line if he doesn’t tell the public a single thing. Unless, of course, BB or RK tell him he needs to.
You think Kraft is going to just ignore the inevitable stories, instead of telling to BB to find another kicker? Rohrwasser might win over his teammates and fans, but he’s not going to make it without addressing the issue.
 

cornwalls@6

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He has to explain to BB and RK if they want one. He owes us nothing and his roster spot isn’t on the line if he doesn’t tell the public a single thing. Unless, of course, BB or RK tell him he needs to.
Whether or not he owes the public an explanation might be debatable, but he's absolutely going to be asked about it a lot, and face more media interest and scrutiny than your average 5th round kicker would. If you're going to sport a tattoo that has the implications that one does, and you're about to enter a very public entertainment industry, nobody else's business but my employer doesn't seem very realistic.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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You think Kraft is going to just ignore the inevitable stories, instead of telling to BB to find another kicker? Rohrwasser might win over his teammates and fans, but he’s not going to make it without addressing the issue.
Whether or not he owes the public an explanation might be debatable, but he's absolutely going to be asked about it a lot, and face more media interest and scrutiny than your average 5th round kicker would. If you're going to sport a tattoo that has the implications that one does, and you're about to enter a very public entertainment industry, nobody else's business but my employer doesn't seem very realistic.
Of course he doesn't owe the public an explanation. He owes his employer an explanation if they tell him, "If you want to play here, you need to explain this." Or if they tell him his employment with the Patriots hinges on him explaining this to the public. If they don't, he *owes* us nothing.

Would he be wise to explain to the public? Maybe. Maybe he doesn't give two craps what you and I might think.

I suspect he does care though, which is why he's already actually offered an explanation. I'd suspect that if that's not good enough for the fine people of SOSH, that's on us, not him.
 

BroodsSexton

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You think Kraft is going to just ignore the inevitable stories, instead of telling to BB to find another kicker? Rohrwasser might win over his teammates and fans, but he’s not going to make it without addressing the issue.
This is precious. Nobody is going to say shit about his tattoos if he’s the best kicker in camp. And if he wins a Super Bowl with a last second kick, Kraft will send him a gift certificate to his favorite spa.
 

Otis Foster

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“He has some explaining to do.” To whom does this kid owe an explanation? His potential employer, yes, and presumably he’s already given it to their satisfaction.
Who else has the right to an explanation? I get that we may WANT one but are we OWED one?

That’s an honest question.
Julian and Nate?
 

mauf

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This is precious. Nobody is going to say shit about his tattoos if he’s the best kicker in camp. And if he wins a Super Bowl with a last second kick, Kraft will send him a gift certificate to his favorite spa.
I don’t think it’s going to get that far if Rohrwasser doesn’t address the issue. He’s going to need to say something heartfelt about bad judgment and show up for camp with the offending tattoo(s) removed or covered. If nothing else comes out about him, I think he gets benefit of the doubt. If he refuses to address the issue or more stuff comes out, he won’t be here.

I share your skepticism about Kraft’s moral purity, but it’s just not worth the damage to the brand if the kid’s not contrite. If he were a potential franchise QB, that would be different, but kickers are a dime a dozen.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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I don’t think it’s going to get that far if Rohrwasser doesn’t address the issue. He’s going to need to say something heartfelt about bad judgment and show up for camp with the offending tattoo(s) removed or covered. If nothing else comes out about him, I think he gets benefit of the doubt. If he refuses to address the issue or more stuff comes out, he won’t be here.
He's already done this.

https://www.pressherald.com/2020/04/25/new-pats-kicker-explains-controversial-tattoo/
"New Patriots kicker Justin Rohrwasser says a tattoo on his arm is not representative of a loosely organized right-wing militia group that has adopted the symbol.

Rohrwasser, who played at Rhode Island and Marshall, was taken 159th overall in the fifth round of the draft Saturday.


He said in a conference call with reporters that he got the tattoo as a teenager because he has a lot of family members in the military. He added he “thought it was a military support symbol at the time.”

“It evolved into something I do not want to represent,” he said. “It will be covered.”"

- - -

Honest question: How many times is he going to need to address it, since he's already done so?
 

mauf

Anderson Cooper × Mr. Rogers
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He's already done this.

https://www.pressherald.com/2020/04/25/new-pats-kicker-explains-controversial-tattoo/
"New Patriots kicker Justin Rohrwasser says a tattoo on his arm is not representative of a loosely organized right-wing militia group that has adopted the symbol.

Rohrwasser, who played at Rhode Island and Marshall, was taken 159th overall in the fifth round of the draft Saturday.


He said in a conference call with reporters that he got the tattoo as a teenager because he has a lot of family members in the military. He added he “thought it was a military support symbol at the time.”

“It evolved into something I do not want to represent,” he said. “It will be covered.”"

- - -

Honest question: How many times is he going to need to address it, since he's already done so?
Let me rephrase: he’s going to have to give an explanation that isn’t obviously bullshit.
 

cornwalls@6

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Let me rephrase: he’s going to have to give an explanation that isn’t obviously bullshit.
Yup, I was a teenager and didn't know what I was I doing might be true, but probably isn't going to satisfy a lot of people. That said, if nothing else is uncovered about his views that would suggest racism, he will, and probably should, be OK. But he ain't done with this today.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Oct 1, 2015
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Let me rephrase: he’s going to have to give an explanation that isn’t obviously bullshit.
Give me an explanation that isn't "obviously BS" then. And why do you and I get to determine that?

I need to add that I know nothing about tattoos. I don't understand why people get them and I don't get what 99.9999% of them mean. I don't like them but at the end of the day, it's not my body and I couldn't really care less. I also understand that people - kids, young adults, older adults - sometimes do things that they later wish they hadn't done, and sometimes there's just no real good explanation for it. And sometimes what seems like a bad answer to one person is actually the truth.

And he still doesn't owe us any explanation at all. He can tell us all to shove it and tell us it's none of our business, which would be true. It isn't. He won't do that of course but he could. He owes BB and RK an explanation *if they want one* because it may represent conditions that they place on actually hiring him. But otherwise....mauf, BaseballJones, or anyone else here....he owes us nothing.

I do think it is smart for him to explain. But that's different.
 

Rough Carrigan

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He's already done this.

https://www.pressherald.com/2020/04/25/new-pats-kicker-explains-controversial-tattoo/
"New Patriots kicker Justin Rohrwasser says a tattoo on his arm is not representative of a loosely organized right-wing militia group that has adopted the symbol.

Rohrwasser, who played at Rhode Island and Marshall, was taken 159th overall in the fifth round of the draft Saturday.


He said in a conference call with reporters that he got the tattoo as a teenager because he has a lot of family members in the military. He added he “thought it was a military support symbol at the time.”

“It evolved into something I do not want to represent,” he said. “It will be covered.”"

- - -

Honest question: How many times is he going to need to address it, since he's already done so?
Is this where we ask him to name names?
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
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Wow. I log off for a few hours and we get 150 posts on this guy.

His press conference came off as genuine. Seems like it should be pretty easy to move on.

Why is this still an issue?
 

InstaFace

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Well, thanks for painting everyone in an age group with the same brush. That's real swell of you.
It's a matter of probabilities, and on these probabilities he's right. I can go dig up the stats (though the shift in white % of the population alone should suffice), but I hope it'll be enough to be reminded that describing a difference in two groups' propensity for stuff doesn't mean that every individual in that group thinks or behaves in lockstep.

Regardless, there are enough Patriots fans who would be deeply offended by a player being an outspoken white supremacist that if that's what he proves to be, it'll end up mattering to the Krafts.
 

RIrooter09

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Wow. I log off for a few hours and we get 150 posts on this guy.

His press conference came off as genuine. Seems like it should be pretty easy to move on.

Why is this still an issue?
So to be clear, you were more upset about them potentially reaching for a 2nd round pick than drafting a guy with far right wing militia tattoos?
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
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So to be clear, you were more upset about them potentially reaching for a 2nd round pick than drafting a guy with far right wing militia tattoos?
Innocent until proven guilty, no?

He said in a conference call with reporters that he got the tattoo as a teenager because he has a lot of family members in the military. He added he “thought it was a military support symbol at the time.”
“It evolved into something I do not want to represent,” he said. “It will be covered.”
 

E5 Yaz

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Innocent until proven guilty, no?

He said in a conference call with reporters that he got the tattoo as a teenager because he has a lot of family members in the military. He added he “thought it was a military support symbol at the time.”
“It evolved into something I do not want to represent,” he said. “It will be covered.”
Too late ... Needle and the Damage Done
 

RIrooter09

Alvin
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Jul 31, 2008
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Innocent until proven guilty, no?

He said in a conference call with reporters that he got the tattoo as a teenager because he has a lot of family members in the military. He added he “thought it was a military support symbol at the time.”
“It evolved into something I do not want to represent,” he said. “It will be covered.”
This isn’t a criminal trial. We can assume he knew full well what the tattoo meant and is covering his ass now as that’s the most logical explanation. You don’t think he at the very least Googled 3 percenter before getting it tattooed on his body?
 

staz

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Too late ... Needle and the Damage Done
Oh please, stop the pearl-clutching for just a moment. You've rendered judgement based on like 5 hours of the interwebs' reaction to what could be an unfortunate coincidence? Read the article and you'll realize he might actually be right out of Central Casting:
And, yet, Rohrwasser continued to redirect the praise. He showed gratitude toward his parents. He credited his teammates. He talked about the perfect execution of his long-snapper, Matt Beardall, and his holder, Jackson White. He commended the offensive line for the protection. He thanked Marshall head coach Doc Holliday for believing in him enough to let him attempt a lengthy field goal – in the rain – with the game on the line.
 

tims4wins

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This isn’t a criminal trial. We can assume he knew full well what the tattoo meant and is covering his ass now as that’s the most logical explanation. You don’t think he at the very least Googled 3 percenter before getting it tattooed on his body?
Is it a good look? No. Clearly not. Has he done anything even remotely approaching the Verdugo mess? Which we don’t even know about. I get that this looks awful. But unless he has actually taken some sort of action... why should he not get a chance?
 

PC Drunken Friar

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Innocent until proven guilty, no?

He said in a conference call with reporters that he got the tattoo as a teenager because he has a lot of family members in the military. He added he “thought it was a military support symbol at the time.”
“It evolved into something I do not want to represent,” he said. “It will be covered.”
He isn't innocent if he has had the tattoo for years and has yet to cover it up. Plus, recommending books by Jordan Peterson on April 1, 2020 is a huge concern. I don't want to be associated with people who support people that think like this. He may only have to answer to BB and RK, but they need to answer to the fans.