Duke cornerback Kimari Robinson apologized on social media on Sunday night, a day after he went viral for swatting at the arm of a female team trainer during the host Blue Devils’ 24-20 loss to North Carolina.
The redshirt junior was standing over injured teammate DaShawn Stone while the safety was on his back and members of the Duke training staff tended to him in the third quarter in Durham, N.C. A third staff member ran over and put her hand on Robinson’s shoulder to attempt to move him so she could tend to Stone. Robinson swiped at her hand and returned to watching over Stone.
“I want to publicly apologize to the member of our training staff for how I acted toward her during Saturday’s game,” Robinson wrote on his X account on Sunday. “I was completely wrong, and she did not deserve that. Immediately after the game, I apologized to her personally and checked to make sure she was okay.”
Stone reportedly was able to walk off the field on his own, with the nature of his injury not disclosed.
“The injured player on the ground, DaShawn Stone, is like family to me, and I was scared he might be seriously hurt,” Robinson wrote. “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,” Robinson concluded. “I have to be better than that.”
Robinson is in his third full season after appearing in one game as a true freshman in 2023. He has 64 tackles, six passes defended, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery in 25 games, including two this season.
Stone, a redshirt junior, also began his Duke career in the 2023 season and has 166 tackles, three interceptions, seven passes defended, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in 38 games.
Duke (4-2, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) tries to snap a two-game losing streak on Friday when the Blue Devils visit the Virginia Cavaliers (4-3, 2-2).