Duke Player Could Face NCAA Punishment for Behavior Toward Female Trainer

There was a scary moment during the third quarter of Duke’s Blue Devil game against the North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday that has Duke cornerback Kimari Robinson facing some heavy backlash.

After Duke’s DaShawn Stone went down with an injury, staff came rushing out to aid him while he was still on the turf. In a video shown of the moment – that has gone wildly viral – Robinson is standing over his teammate in concern, when a female athletic trainer comes around to help. In a split second, she goes to move Robinson away, and he slaps her arm away. She then simply goes about her job.

Fans and professionals alike were quick to brutalize Robinson’s actions, including former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III.

“As a man, this just can’t happen,” Griffin said. “No excuses for it.”

More people jumped into the conversation, some agreeing with Griffin, others pointing out that the young player acted in the heat of the moment.

“The amount of men defending this is absolutely disgusting,” one person said. “Let’s break it down to some simple rules here. This player should not have been on the field the rules clearly state he should’ve left the vicinity and allow the medical staff to do their job. His violent reaction to her gentle nudge to get him out of the way is a clear statement about the type of man he is. 2026 NCAA Football Rules Book, Appendix A. These guidelines were developed by the NFL and adopted by the NCAA Football Rules Committees.”

“Athletic trainers take precedence on the field with injured players. Non injured players take a knee and get out of the way. Standard practice since peewee,” someone else noted.

“Actually, women need to learn to keep their hands to themselves and or use your words instead of trying to physically remove a grown man,” some guy commented.

“Screw that. She didn’t need to put her hands on him at all. Everyone needs to keep their hands to themselves,” one person said.

“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,” another expressed.

Duke ended up losing 24-20.