New England Patriots draft pick vows to remove far-right tattoo after learning symbol’s true meaning

'I knew I had to get it totally taken off my body,' Justin Rohrwasser says

New England Patriots new rookie kicker, who was selected in the fifth round of the NFL draft, announced he would remove a controversial forearm tattoo.

Justin Rohrwasser, 23, a kicker from Marshall University in West Virginia sparked backlash for a tattoo that mirrored the symbol for a far-right, anti-government group the Three Percenters.

The football player said he got the tattoo when he was 18 years old but did not know the true meaning behind the symbol. Upon discovery this weekend of the meaning, he vowed to have it removed.

“As soon as I saw what it was linked to on Saturday, it was exactly that time I knew I had to get it totally taken off my body,” Mr Rohrwasser told WBZ-TV in Boston. “I said cover it up (to reporters), but I want to get it removed from my body. It’s shameful that I had it on there ignorantly.”

Initially, Mr Rohrwasser picked the tattoo because he thought it symbolised support for the military.

“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,’” the kicker told the news station. “Coming from a military family, I thought that really spoke to me. I always was proud to be an American. I’m very proud to be an American.”

The kicker admitted he should’ve “done more research” before getting the tattoo, adding the symbol has “obviously” evolved into something that “I do not want to represent.”

The Southern Poverty Law Centre, which monitors hate and extremist groups, has classified the Three Percenters as an “anti-government” organisation. The name comes from the "dubious" claim that only 3 per cent of American colonists fought against Britain to gain independence during the Revolutionary War. The group vowed to rise up against any government that infringed on the Constitution.

A resurgence of the militia group came around the same time President Barack Obama took office, according to the Anti-Defamation League, which also monitors extremist groups.

The Three Percenters claim on their website they are not “anti-government”.

“We do not seek to incite a revolution. However, we will defend ourselves when necessary,” the group’s website read.

The Patriots drafted Mr Rohrwasser as their top kicker to replace the team’s all-time leading scorer Stephen Gostkowski, who was released in March.