Duke football defensive back Kimari Robinson apologized after he received backlash for swiping at a team trainer trying to attend to an injured player.
During Duke’s rivalry game against North Carolina on Saturday, Oct. 17, Dashawn Stone was injured in what looked like a serious injury, and Robinson went to check in on his teammate.
However, when a trainer came on the field to help, Robinson swiped his arm at the staffer, who looked to be shaken by it as she tried to attend to Stone.
The moment went viral on social media with Robinson receiving backlash for his actions.
”I want to publicly apologize to the member of our training staff for how I acted toward her during Saturday’s game,” Robinson posted on social media on Sunday, Oct. 18. “I was completely wrong, and she did not deserve that. I apologized to her personally and checked to make sure she was okay. The injured player on the ground, DaShawn Stone, is like family to me, and I was scared he might be seriously hurt. But being worried about him does not excuse how I treated her. I should have controlled my emotions, and I didn’t.
“I’m truly sorry for my actions and for letting her, myself and our program down. I have to be better than that.”
— Kimari Robinson (@krobinson7__) October 19, 2026
A junior from Miramar, Florida, Robinson has been a consistent starter for the Blue Devils over the past two seasons.
Stone looked to be severely injured as a stretcher came out for Stone, but he was able to get up and walk off the field on his own power.
Duke lost to North Carolina 24-20 to fall to 4-2.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Duke football player apologizes for viral swipe at trainer