The NFL has denied New York Giants’ wide receiver Golden Tate’s appeal regarding a four-game ban and will leave the Giants without a top target for the first part of the 2019 season, according to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan.
Tate, who made his appeal in front of an arbitrator on Tuesday, tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance, leading to the suspension, but Tate claims that the positive result came from prescribed fertility medication.
While Tate will be allowed to participate in all preseason games, and will be able to participate in practice as well, he will not be available to play for the first four games of the season.
Tate will lose $116,176 per game during his suspension, totally $465,000 in salary lost by the time he is eligible to return.
With Tate out, the Giants will lean more on Sterling Shepard, Cody Latimer, and Bennie Fowler to pick up the slack until Tate comes back.
“This past April, during the off-season, my wife and I decided to see a specialist for fertility planning. I started the treatment prescribed to me and just days later I discovered it contained an ingredient that is on the league’s banned substance list,” Tate said, via a statement he issues last month.
“I immediately discontinued use, I reported the situation to the Independent Administrator of the NFL Policy on Performance-Enhancing Substances, and I spoke with my coaches and general manager. I did all of this well before a failed test was even confirmed.
“Per NFL protocol, an initial suspension was imminent, but myself and the Giants organization are confident in the facts, and eagerly await my appeal to put this behind us.”