A-Rob Links

I totally disagree that ARob is doing the right thing by doing this. He is airing dirty laundry, blaming outside circumstances for his demise and to some degree offering excuses.

I would think the most likely path to getting back on the team would have been the following.

AROB: I am continuing my education at the University of Iowa because I am a Hawkeye. It was an honor to be a student athlete at the university for three years and I realize that you can't have one without the other. I'm going to take this semester to focus on academics and will continue to train. I would love to rejoin the team in the fall at any capacity but I realize that my actions have caused this to not be on my terms.
 
trj said:
I think we have to be careful with tossing around concussion symptoms as reason for bad behavior.


This theory has been floated out there for some of Ben Roethlisberger boorish, bad off the field behavior. I guess I need more info before I completely buy into this.
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I think there is a difference here. A-rob is admitting he turned to weed, and skipping study hall as coping mechanism for his symptoms. The theory with Rothlisberger is that concussions essentially has turned him into a sociopath.
 
drew003 said:
I think there is a difference here. A-rob is admitting he turned to weed, and skipping study hall as coping mechanism for his symptoms. The theory with Rothlisberger is that concussions essentially has turned him into a sociopath.
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I get the distinction and it should be noted, however some are making correlations to the symptoms and the bad behavior......Personally, I dunno and I'm going sit here and pretend I do.

Sociopath is a little strong, the article I recalled mentioned anti-social behavior. Maybe its semantics, maybe their is a difference.....Once again I don't know.

The article I'm referring to was written by some European doctor, not saying he was a quack, but some of his theories seem a bit of a stretch. I'm a guy who struggled to get an undergrad degree, so I am far from a expert.
 
Saw Arob last night and talked with him briefly about the situation. Really seems like his head and heart are in the right place—I hope things work out for him.
 
Taken at face value, Robinsons offense (getting ticketed for weed) is not that serious, and comparable crimes have never gotten a player booted from the team. Seen on it's own, it wasn't enough to get him kicked off. But the world doesn't work that way, and Robinson was all ready in the doghouse and on suspension when he got that ticket. Bad move on his part to put himself in that position. Secondary to that, the events that surrounded the case more or less (IMO) forced Kirk's hand.

Also, it's not insane to think that his concussion against Michigan State didn't lead to the academic troubles that got him in trouble for the Ohio State game. In this sense, Kirk is somewhat culpable in all of this by leaving Robinson in the game when Iowa was up 37-0 in the 4th quarter. Then he gets blown up against the Buckeyes (making things worse) gets suspended for the bowl game, and here we are. These events are all connected.

Robinson isn't "making things worse" by enrolling at Iowa for the spring semester. If that's where he wants to be, I don't think anyone on this board is in a position to say that he's making a mistake. He's got two scholarship offers in his pocket, but he wants to come back to Iowa and atone for his misdeeds. He is choosing to take the hard road. How is that a mistake?
 
This is a tricky one, as ARob has always looked like a good kid who earned his way onto the field through hard work and a great attitude. But he's also had a series of "oops-es".

The concussion claims by his Mom are a bit of a catch-22. If it's serious enough to affect his decision-making for an extended period of time, then he probably shouldn't be playing football. He's at significant risk.

On the other hand, if the injury is not responsible for his bad moves off the field...he is. And maybe shouldn't be back on the roster. Tough to have it both ways. "Temporary insanity" is a plea I've tried several times...to no avail. ;)

Seems like a good kid, I hope he gets ..and stays...back on a good path.
 
KF, should set verifiable metrics for A-Rob. If those metrics are met the man should be allowed to play. As a scholarship athlete you have different standards than average students to uphold. As a kid it is easy to do something stupid. We all have done it. A-Rob standing up and admitting his mistakes is a big part of going forward in life. It also appears that his family is taking an active role in his maturity. Good for them! Go Hawks!
 
I don't like how he seemed to try to put the onus back on the coaches. Should he have been in the Michigan St. game late in the fourth? Probably not. However, to say he plead with the coaches to scale back his study hours and they refused, is trying to put some blame on them. IDK, that just doesn't seem the way to go about this.
 
A-Rob probably has had many, many people asking him questions of what he's doing or going to do, especially in light of Wegher's coming out. He was smart to answer them as he did. He is a kid who made some mistakes, not serious crimes, He's trying to do the right thing. Will it be exactly what everyone wants to hear? Unfortunately, it seems for many of you the answer is a hard line, "I'm holier than thou" attitude, "no".

He is a good kid who is trying to do the right thing for himself and by those that he cares about most. If he has a possibility to earn a spot back on the team, then let him go for it... as any other walk-on with ambitions, motivations, determination and talent... with all our blessings. It seems he has chosen to put life first, and not football, and I believe that to be the correct way for him to go. If he wants to just play ball, and get an education somewhere else, he has that option. Go A-Rob Go...I hope you get it right...you deserve another shot here or anywhere.
 
The concussions add an interesting twist to this situation. I can't recall which Hawkeye player talked about it this season, but he said after his concussion it was a struggle to do anything other than stay in his dark apartment with the blinds drawn.

Concussions aren't ankle sprains. They can impact behavior.

And while I realize Robinson was already given a second chance, by all accounts he was a model citizen within the football program for two and three-quarters seasons.

I recall something Ferentz said earlier this season, something about being in the business of attempting to change young people's behavior. I also recall what he said when he kicked Benny Sapp off the team, that at some point he needed the player to see the light bulb go off, recognizing what he was doing wrong and address it.

If Robinson stops talking (right now) and is a model student/citizen for the next 7 months, I think Ferentz should give him another chance. At that point, it is obvious the light bulb went off and the behavior has changed.
 
SwirlinLingerie said:
The concussions add an interesting twist to this situation. I can't recall which Hawkeye player talked about it this season, but he said after his concussion it was a struggle to do anything other than stay in his dark apartment with the blinds drawn.

Concussions aren't ankle sprains. They can impact behavior.

And while I realize Robinson was already given a second chance, by all accounts he was a model citizen within the football program for two and three-quarters seasons.

I recall something Ferentz said earlier this season, something about being in the business of attempting to change young people's behavior. I also recall what he said when he kicked Benny Sapp off the team, that at some point he needed the player to see the light bulb go off, recognizing what he was doing wrong and address it.

If Robinson stops talking (right now) and is a model student/citizen for the next 7 months, I think Ferentz should give him another chance. At that point, it is obvious the light bulb went off and the behavior has changed.
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Good points. But that goes to my question: If his concussions were severe enough to affect his behavior ...should he really be putting on a football helmet again?
 
JonDMiller said:
I can see why ARob spoke to press, sort of a repairing of the image thing...but true atonement is done away from the spotlight. Just stay enrolled, go to class, do all of the right things, don't be a distraction or put KF in a box, and it might end better..or have a better chance

Then, once you have walked the walk, and can be of benefit to society through reformed actions and behavior, the story is worth telling, IMO
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There certainly is a precedent for "more-than-one-strike"...in the person of James Ferentz.

And while I am sure this was part "publicity stunt", it takes a lot of guts for ARob to want to stay a Hawk. He could easily go another route. To WANT to to stay and make it back says a lot.

We shall see...
 
BSpringsteen said:
I totally disagree that ARob is doing the right thing by doing this. He is airing dirty laundry, blaming outside circumstances for his demise and to some degree offering excuses.

I would think the most likely path to getting back on the team would have been the following.

AROB: I am continuing my education at the University of Iowa because I am a Hawkeye. It was an honor to be a student athlete at the university for three years and I realize that you can't have one without the other. I'm going to take this semester to focus on academics and will continue to train. I would love to rejoin the team in the fall at any capacity but I realize that my actions have caused this to not be on my terms.
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Curious, what did James Ferentz say after HIS second "issue"?
 
I think doctors have to address that. My point is the concussions cloudy up the academic issue. If he had no problems making it to the required learning center sessions for two and three quarters seasons yet after the concussions he wanted to rest 20 hours a day in the dark, than Robinson gains a little more credibility in my book.

Ferentz always says he takes into account the number of years in the program and past problems when a player runs into trouble. If that's the case, doesn't he also have to consider Robinson's nearly three years of (by all accounts) exemplary behavior?

Given his track record, from a distance I tend to give Robinson some benefit of the doubt on the concussions/ missed learning center hours. And if the only other strike against him is possession of marijuana, 7 months of outstanding behavior should earn him another chance.
 
don't know if this has been mentioned - but how is this a '2nd chance'? How many strikes do you get until you are out? He already had to sit in the OSU game for a half, had to miss the bowl game, had the possession charge.

Those are the items we are familiar with - who knows what else was going on. Maybe nothing, but maybe he's already been given his '2nd chance'.
 
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