Keeping tabs on my beloved New England Patriots during the NFL Draft this weekend, I saw that they picked Brandon Tate, a wide receiver from North Carolina. All good and well, except that Tate apparently failed a marijuana test at the NFL combine. Asked about the situation by sports reporters, he had this to say:
Q: There was a report that you tested positive for marijuana at the combine. Is that true?
BT: I know I had made a mistake, and now that's behind me. I'm just moving forward, getting ready to go to the NFL and play for the Patriots.
Q: Was that something that came up during this draft process—that teams wanted you to explain that?
BT: Like I said, all of that is behind me. Whatever happened with that, it already happened, so I'm moving forward.
In Tate's case, that is presumably the right thing to say, as he is a young man in his 20s who has apparently used a widely popular illegal drug, not a government charged with the systematic illegal torture of its enemies. Plenty of jokes have been made about the looking-forward excuse, but this little item really puts in perspective when and where that outlook is appropriate.
-- Tim Fernholz
