Associated Press 14y

Tate 'embarrassed' by doughnut incident

NFL, Seattle Seahawks

RENTON, Wash. -- Seahawks rookie wide receiver Golden Tate apologized Tuesday and said he was "very embarrassed" after police in suburban Seattle gave him a warning for trespassing into a gourmet doughnut shop at 3 a.m. last weekend.

Tate said the Top Pot doughnuts store is in the bottom of the building in which he lives in Bellevue, Wash.

"Freshly baked. I made the mistake of -- a buddy made the mistake going in grabbing a couple. We ate them," the former Notre Dame star said after an organized team activity. "This is the wrong type of media I want to bring to the organization."

The celebrity gossip outlet TMZ first reported the incident Tuesday.

Mark Klebeck, co-founder of Top Pot Doughnuts, told Seattle's KJR radio that a baker must have gone to the restroom and left a door unattended or unsecured. He said that during that time Tate and another person must have entered the bakery through a back door or freight elevator that connects the store to the residences in which Tate lives.

He said the baker followed proper company protocol and immediately called police. While officers were dispatched, Klebeck told KJR, the baker recognized Tate as a resident of the building. That diffused the situation.

"The baker just said it really wasn't anything more than people were in the bakery who shouldn't have been there," Klebeck told the station. "That doesn't make any excuse for coming in when we're closed."

Klebeck couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday by The Associated Press.

Tate said police gave him a warning. "They just kind of said 'don't do it again,' which I won't."

He also called the incident a "foolish mistake."

"But," he added, "if you ever want maple bars, that's the place to go."

Top Pot recently signed an agreement with the Seahawks' stadium, Qwest Field, to sell doughnuts and coffee during NFL and Major League Soccer games.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said he has already spoken with Tate about the incident.

"No, I'm not disappointed at a guy being at a doughnut shop at 3 in the morning when they got maple bars like Top Pot has," Carroll deadpanned.

"However, under the circumstances, I think they were closed or something like that, trying to close, or whatever," the coach said. "That's definitely wrong. We've talked about it, addressed it. He's remorseful and all that. I do understand the lure of the maple bars."

"Must be some good Maple Bars!" Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck posted on his Twitter page.

Tate said he understands he could have learned a lot tougher lesson than getting some bad publicity off a warning.

"I'd rather learn on this ... than on something on me being arrested or cited, something bigger," he said. "Next time I will have the buddy go in and buy them instead."

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