Police believe Brian Robinson was targeted, and why that's a crying shame | Goodbread
Parents and siblings, uncles and cousins, friends and mentors.
After awhile, it was a lot to count, but for purposes of illustrating the scene for readers of The Tuscaloosa News, I rounded off an estimate of two dozen well-wishers at Brian Robinson's draft party in Destin, Florida, four months ago.
That's a lot of gut punches, and they all took one Sunday night with the news that the former Hillcrest High and Alabama star running back had been shot multiple times as the victim of a robbery attempt -- perhaps a carjacking, though the exact nature of the crime is unclear -- according to police. The Washington Commanders rookie, who'd had an impressive preseason and was on the brink of his starting in his NFL debut, is in stable condition in a D.C.-area hospital.
Thankfully, his injuries are non-life threatening. After visiting Robinson, Commanders coach Ron Rivera suggested they aren't career-threatening, either.
Unfortunately, career threats lurk everywhere for NFL players, and not just in the form of injuries. Police believe the robbery attempt was targeted -- read: not random -- and while it's not been confirmed that Robinson was targeted because he's an NFL player, count me as unsurprised if that's what this was. There've been too many prior examples of pro athletes being preyed upon for their newfound wealth. From the day they're drafted, they have to swim in a sea of people who want to separate them from their money in any way possible.
They're targets of violent crime.
They're targets of fraud.
They're targets of lies and schemes and swindles.
Hire the wrong agent, you're a victim. Engage with the wrong investment partner, you're a victim. Loan money to the wrong friend, you're a victim. And sometimes all it takes to be a victim is a crook with a gun merely recognizing who you are.
Former Oakland Raider Phillip Buchanan, one of five Miami Hurricanes drafted in the first round in 2002, wrote a chilling, heartbreaking book called New Money that detailed all the threats he endured as a result of instant NFL riches. Buchanan was not only targeted in a robbery but set up for it by someone he trusted.
It's little wonder that NFL clubs employ big security staffs, many of whom are vested with high-end law enforcement and investigative experience.
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The important thing here is that Robinson is apparently going to be OK.
Football comes last in importance when it comes to violent crime, but for a kid like Robinson, who persevered through four years on Alabama's bench to make his NFL dream a reality, it's not unimportant.
Not to him, anyway.
While my first thought upon hearing Robinson had been shot was for his well-being, my next was of all the loved ones of his whom I met while covering his draft party April 29, and what they must be going through themselves. And what a shame it is that the very thing they gathered to celebrate with unbridled joy came with a certain amount of peril for the man of the hour. Robinson is the one who will have to recover physically, but he won't suffer alone emotionally. The bullets that struck him touched a lot of people.
They all hurt today.
They're all asking whys and hows.
They all deserve answers.
And whether Robinson was targeted because he's a pro athlete or not, he deserves to pursue his dream without the dangers that can come with it.
Reach Chase Goodbread at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @chasegoodbread
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Ex-Alabama RB Brian Robinson targeted in robbery, and that's a shame
