VIDEO: Patriots' Justin Rohrwasser Explains Decision to Have Controversial '3 Percenter' Tattoo Removed

The New England Patriots attracted the wrong kind of spotlight when they elected to pick Marshall kicker Justin Rohrwasser in the fifth round of the NFL Draft on Saturday. It was quickly revealed across social media that he has a tattoo on his arm representing the "Three Percenters," a far-right paramilitary group with ties to white supremacy and a twisted view of American history. Fortunately, the rising rookie quickly expressed contrition and said that he intends to have the tattoo removed. He went on to speak with Boston's WBZ-TV to explain his decision further.

"It was described to me as the percentage of colonists that rose up against the government of the British. I was like, wow, that is such an American sentiment, a patriotic sentiment," he said of what originally drew him to the Three Percenter movement. He explained that he was ignorant of the group's presence at the infamous Charlottesville "Unite the Right" rally or many of its extreme positions on government authortity.

All told, the kid is well on his way to passing his first test as a professional football player -- even if it's dispiriting that this episode had to come about in the first place.

Rohrwasser says he got the tattoo five years ago when he was 18, but it's more than clear to him now why it's attracted so much controversy. "It's shameful that I had it on there ignorantly," he said.

A young man full of pride over his selection in the NFL Draft -- by Bill Belichick, no less -- might not have shocked us all if he had acted differently amid controversy. Good for Rohrwasser for owning up to his decisions and responding in the most sensible way.