It’s not the leg of new Patriots kicker Justin Rohrwasser that is at issue.
It’s his left arm, the one that bears a tattoo of a far-right militia group.
THE PICK IS IN...
— Marshall Football (@HerdFB) April 25, 2020
With the 14th pick in the 5th round the @Patriots select @Xjrowex16! 🏈🤘#NFLDraft x #WeAreMarshall pic.twitter.com/BskQ5PWsbm
Rohrwasser displayed it with no apparent concern as he stood for a photograph in his Marshall uniform. He played for the Thundering Herd for two seasons and was named the Conference USA Special Teams Player of the Year in 2019; a promotional release touting that honor shows him wearing a short-sleeve version of his No. 16 Herd jersey with his hands grasping the clavicle area of his shoulder pads. A "Three Percenters" tattoo is in full view.
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The Three Percenters were founded in 2008, the year Barack Obama was elected president. The group advocates individual gun rights and is opposed to federal government involvement in local affairs. Members of the group, carrying arms, were reported to have served as guards for the white supremacist protesters whose 2017 rally in Charlottesville, Va., resulted in one death and 34 injuries.
The Anti-Defamation League calls the Three Percenters an "extremist movement."
After people noticed the tattoo following his selection by the Patriots in the fifth round Saturday, Rohrwasser responded by explaining the tattoo was acquired "when I was a teenager."
"I have a lot of family in the military, and I thought it was a military support symbol at the time," he told New England reporters on a conference call.
"And obviously it evolved into something that I do not want to represent," Rohrwasser added. "And 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 that I ever want to represent. It will be covered."
