Golden Tate and the lure of Top Pot maple bars
Posted by Danny O'Neil
Seahawks rookie Golden Tate answered questions about the incident over the weekend. He was not cited nor arrested, but he did receive a warning for trespassing after he fell victim to the lure of Top Pot Doughnut's maple bars.
Now, one thing to clarify. Tate lives in the building where the donut shop is located.
"A buddy made the mistake of going in, grabbing a couple," Tate said. "We ate them. Nothing much to the story other than that.
"Very apologetic to it. This is the wrong type of media I want to bring to the organization. I apologize to the team, the coaches and even Top Pot. As of now, I think that's the end of it."
There was no ticket, just a warning Tate said.
"Just kind of said, 'Don't do it again,' " Tate said. "Which I won't."
So, was it the smell that lured him in?
"When I got here, it was one of the first things I had," Tate said. "I heard about it. They're irresistible. It was kind of a foolish mistake that won't happen again. If you ever want some maple bars, that's the place to go."
As for any lessons learned from the incident?
"I'm very embarrassed to even have my name a part of this," he said. "Before now, I've never had some trouble in any type of school or anything. I'd rather learn on this than have something a few months or years down the road that's a lot bigger and me being arrested or cited for something. So this is definitely a lesson learned for me, and next time, I'm just going to have my buddy go in and buy them instead."
Of course that will mean waiting until the shop opens.
As for the coach, well he understands the temptation. It was the timing of his receiver that was at issue, not his taste or sense of smell.
"I'm not disappointed in a guy being in a donut when they've got maple bars like Top Pot has," coach Pete Carroll said. "However, under the circumstances I think they were closed or they were trying to closed or something like that. "So that's definitely one we talked about it, and he's most remorseful about it and all that. I do understand the allure of the maple bars."
Update at 2:51 p.m.: Mark Klebeck, the co-founder of Top Pot Doughnuts, appeared on KJR 950 AM with Jason Puckett on Tuesday afternoon. He explained the circumstances in which Tate and another man were seen by a baker near a rack of donuts. Klebeck indicated they had access likely from a door that wasn't fully closed when a baker used the restroom. Tate and his friend likely came down via a back stairway or freight elevator.
The police were called, which is following the store's procedures. Tate was given a warning, and Klebeck very clearly stated this was not a publicity stunt or anything like that. He said, however, he was glad this wasn't anything more serious.
"It really wasn't anything more than people who shouldn't have been in the bakery," Klebeck said during the interview.
Later, Klebeck joked he wished the cafe had been open 24 hours, then there wouldn't have been a problem.
btw- I'm kidding
Maybe it is all a PR stunt
