Duke Blue Devils CB Kimari Robinson is at the centre of a controversy after aggressively swatting away a female athletic trainer who came onto the field to treat teammate Landan Callahan.
The Blue Devils lost a rivalry game against the North Carolina Tar Heels 24-20 and might have lost two key defenders over one incident, although only one of the two got injured.
After CB Landan Callahan went down with an injury, leading to a concerned Kimari Robinson hovering over him, Robinson made a huge mistake by swatting away a female athletic trainer who came to work on Callahan.
Kimari Robinson under extreme scrutiny after swatting away a female athletic trainer
After Callahan went down in the third quarter, Robinson had his moment with trainer Grace Dietrich, prompting a lot of angry fans to criticise his behaviour.
“The kid needs to be benched for a game or two, and forced to go through the emergency training again. You can’t have someone that big and strong, acting like that in an emergency. Imagine if he had accidentally connected and floored her, giving her a concussion? Suddenly he’d be up on assault charges, and there would be a second medical emergency distracting the medics trying to help his teammate,” said a fan.
“He’s a punk, and Duke better make sure he learns a lesson from this,” said another angry fan.
“Unacceptable, I have to let the medical staff do what they need to do,” said one fan.
“Player should not be there. Let the medical staff do their job. They clearly suspect a neck injury, as the ATC is immobilising the head. She is clearly just trying to make room to do her job,” said another fan who was angry at the player.
“I get your point, but the emotions of a kid when someone as close as family is hurting and down isn’t a thing to dismiss either. They both obviously care for the down player,” said one fan in defence of the player.
With some calling for consequences like missing games for Robinson, the Blue Devils will be left in a tough spot. While they have to discipline the 21-year-old, they also need him on the field after a 1-2 start to the season.
Robinson has five tackles in two games for the Blue Devils as a starting CB, registering three against the Tar Heels.
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