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Robert Griffin III calls out Duke CB after on-field moment with athletic trainer

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Duke safety DaShawn Stone went down with 6:52 left in the third quarter of Saturday’s game against North Carolina at Wallace Wade Stadium, and the Blue Devils’ medical staff hurried onto the field with a stretcher not far behind. Stone eventually walked off under his own power. A few seconds of video from that stoppage had been viewed by millions by the end of the night.

Stone was hurt making a tackle on UNC running back Jaylen McGill, and McGill’s knee appeared to catch him in the head, EssentiallySports noted, citing WCHL reporter Michael Koh. Cornerback Kimari Robinson, a redshirt junior who wears No. 5, was standing over his teammate when a female member of Duke’s athletic training staff arrived and moved him aside so the medical team could get to Stone.

Robinson swatted her arm away, and the ESPN broadcast caught the exchange. She turned back to Stone and kept working.

“As a man, this just can’t happen. No excuses for it,” Robert Griffin III wrote on X, in a post that drew millions of views.

North Carolina went on to win 24-20, rallying after Duke took a 20-17 lead on Walker Eget’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Nate Sheppard. McGill answered with a 24-yard touchdown run, and Kenton Dopson III intercepted Duke to seal it, giving Bill Belichick his first win over the Blue Devils a year after Duke beat the Tar Heels 32-25. Both teams are now 4-2.

As a man, this just can’t happen.
No excuses for it. https://t.co/7yoOUxxaf1
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) October 18, 2026

Will Duke take action on Kimari Robinson?

Duke, Robinson, and coach Manny Diaz had not commented on the clip as of this report, and no discipline had been confirmed. Fans online split, with some pointing to Robinson’s concern for a close friend lying on the turf, while others called for him to be removed from the team. Some fans defending him argued that he obviously cares and may simply want to console the down player, while others criticize his action and call for his suspension.

@RGIII Here’s a crazy thought… fog of war, teammate down, emotions high, stuff happens in seconds that others get multiple watches to critique.
Before we end a young man’s playing career, maybe we just say not cool and move on.
— AnalogDad (@AnalogCryptoDad) October 18, 2026

You can tell that the people that are replying negatively to the female trainer have never played an organized sport. Kids are taught very quickly that athletic trainers are untouchables regardless of the team they are working for. They are focused on player safety. No way that Duke player did not know that.
— UpYours (@UpYours66494571) October 18, 2026

@RGIII Medical personel are trained to move people out of the way so they can work……This is BS and he should be susupended. She is doing her damn job and he is just an upset asshole….
— The Original (@ezyeddy) October 18, 2026

@RGIII I don’t care if you’re a man or woman. If you’re a player and the medical staff is trying to get to one of your injured teammates, move and let them get to your teammate.
— Blunt Force Drama (@JefferyAMcLean) October 18, 2026

With a possible blow to the head and a stretcher on its way, the trainer was doing exactly the job she is on the field to do, which is clearing space so the staff can evaluate the player. A teammate in that space, even a well-meaning one, slows the people trying to help.

Recall that the NFL dealt with a version of this in January 2023, when Packers linebacker Quay Walker shoved a Lions trainer who was attending to an injured D’Andre Swift. Walker was ejected and fined $13,261 by the league, and he apologized afterward.

College football has no fine schedule for a moment like Robinson’s, which leaves any response with Diaz and the Duke athletic department.

Robert Griffin III calls out Duke CB after on-field moment with athletic trainer

Will Duke take action on Kimari Robinson?

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