San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates isn't the eight-time Pro Bowler he once was, but he's still among the top-10 players in the league at his position and a well-respected voice in the Chargers locker room.
That's why it was such a shock then, when the team announced Thursday that Gates had been suspended and will miss the first four games of the 2015 NFL season after violating the league's policy on performance enhancing substances.
Gates released a statement via twitter apologizing for his suspension:
"In my 12 years in the NFL, I have taken tremendous pride in upholding the integrity of the NFL shield and all that it entails. I have taken extreme care of my body with a holistic approach and I have never knowingly ingested a substance that was banned by the NFL. In an effort to recover from this past season, I used supplements and holistic medicines, and unfortunately, I have no learned that those substances always present a risk because they may contain banned substances even if the ingredient list doesn't reflect them.
"As an NFL veteran and team leader, I should have done my due diligence to ensure that what I was taking for recovery was within the NFL guidelines. I understand that I am responsible for what is in my body and I have always believed that ignorance is no excuse when it comes to these issues. I take full responsibility for my actions. I'd like to express my sincere apologies to the Chargers, my teammates, coaches, fans and the league who have always supported me and expected and gotten nothing but the highest level of integrity from me."
The Chargers released a statement regarding Gates' suspension:
"We are tremendously disappointed for our team and our fans as well as Antonio, but no more disappointed than Antonio is with himself. Antonio is a member of the Chargers' family and we will continue to support him 100-percent. We have the utmost confidence he will stay in excellent shape for the season and be ready to go when he returns in Week 5. While it's unfortunate to not have him to start the season, we have complete confidence our tight end group will continue to play at a high level."
There was already talk earlier this offseason that with Gates approaching his 13th season in the league and 35th birthday, Ladarius Green could be set to finally start taking some snaps away from the future Hall of Famer.
It seems that for the first few weeks of next season at least, that will indeed be the case.
