On Saturday afternoon the New England Patriots drafted kicker Justin Rohrwasser, who was immediately immersed in controversy over on of his tattoos.
Rohrwasser, who kicked at Rhode Island and then Marshall, has a tattoo on his left forearm features a “III” symbol, which represents a very controversial right-wing militia group called the “Three Percenters”.
On the new Patriots draft pick, Rohrwasser….
For those unaware, 3 Percenters are a super far right military group. pic.twitter.com/TvkKWEhJpe
— Ethan Hammerman (@Ethanhamm) April 25, 2020
DISCOURSE! I DEMAND IT! pic.twitter.com/x2ONruBNWO
— Justis Mosqueda (@JuMosq) April 25, 2020
The Three Percenters were founded back in 2008 the same year Barack Obama was elected president and advocates for individual gun rights while opposing federal government involvement in local affairs. Members of the group infamously served as guards for white supremacist protesters in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017.
Rohrwasser was asked about the tattoo and claims he got it as a teenager and it’s not something he represents.
“I got that tattoo when I was a teenager,” “I had a lot of family in the military, and I thought it stood for a military support symbol at the time. Obviously, it evolved into something that I did 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. It’s not something I want to represent. So, it will be covered.”
Rohrwasser has family in the military so he wanted to get tattoos to support them. He admitted he should've done more research (he was a teenager). He seems pretty embarrassed by the situation.
— Mark Daniels (@ByMarkDaniels) April 25, 2020
Many questioned Rohrwasser’s sincerity and wanted the media to ask him follow-up questions about the tattoo.
were there followup questions or was this really enough?
important followup question: what does "covered" mean? covered by new tattoos? just covered by an armband on the field but out the rest of the time? https://t.co/tdhgq8s4Mm
— bomani (@bomani_jones) April 25, 2020
when did you learn the tattoos meant something else? why didn't you cover them then?
why did you once previously say your tattoos were random, when now you say you thought you were supporting the military?
how did you think that one symbol represented the military?
— bomani (@bomani_jones) April 25, 2020