Tate became a punk in the national media and much of the NFL fan consciousness for how he handled the interview after the game-winning catch in the Green Bay game.
He came across as a standoffish psychopathic liar with the "don't know nothin bout that" comment regarding the offensive PI.
If he'd said something different, maybe expressing that, "well, there is a certain amount of pushing and shoving going on during any Hail Mary play" and "sometimes the defense gets away with things, and sometimes the offense does, but it's up to the officials to see it and call" and how he "was just happy to have come down with the ball", or something, anything but the way he actually conducted himself.
Laying out Sean Lee the next week didn't really hurt Tate among real football people; that group realized shows he is a tough little SOB who puts the team first and blocks for his QB.
The Monday night antics with the hand-waving just showed Tate in the same light as the Green Bay post-game MNF interview. "Confirmation bias" as the psychologists call it; those who already thought Tate was a punk will be more convinced he's a punk and a dickwad.