NY Giants tell Golden Tate to stay home after frustration boils over

The NY Giants told Golden Tate to stay home from Wednesday’s walkthrough, in the aftermath of Tate’s wife complaining about the wide receiver’s playing time on social media this week

NY Giants head coach Joe judge is facing a significant test to his “team-first” philosophy.

Veteran wide receiver Golden Tate is clearly unhappy with how he’s been utilized this season, and after he was seen screaming “throw me the ball” at ESPN’s camera after catching a fourth quarter touchdown Monday night, a social media post from his wife caused quite a stir:

Tate’s wife, Elise, has over 55,000 followers on Instagram, and her post drew the ire of Judge and the Giants.

“[Tate]’s not going to be with us today,” Judge said prior to Wednesday’s walkthrough practice. “He’ll be back on the grass tomorrow practicing. I’m going to leave it at that.”

This has been a disappointing season for Tate, who has caught just 22 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns while playing less than half of the Giants’ offensive snaps.

Between Elise Tate’s post and Tate’s frustrations boiling over on the field directed at the cameras, Judge does not seem thrilled that the wide receiver’s grievances outside the sanctity of the locker room or meeting rooms.

“It has to be team-first for everyone in this building,” Judge said. “Every coach and every player. It has to be team first. There can be no exceptions, for that. I can’t tolerate selfish from anyone, coach or player.

“When it comes to discipline, I don’t believe in holding trials for any of my players — or my coaches for that matter — in the public eye. While that may be inconvenient at times for fans who want to be connected, I choose to deal with things internally, because as the head coach it’s my job to protect the team. It’s my job to make sure things are handled internally and we have a family structure in this building where everyone understands there are consequences for their actions.”

Matt Lombardo is the site expert for GMenHQ, and writes Between The Hash Marks each Wednesday for FanSided. Follow Matt on Twitter: @MattLombardoNFL.