 Mike HlasHi, I'm Gazette/TheGazette.com sports columnist Mike Hlas. This is the Hlog. We will meet here, discuss things, and then go [...] |
|
Email the author
Adam Robinson’s mother: Adam needed guidance and direction last fall, was “suffering mentally”
Adam Robinson runs against Ohio State last year (AP photo)
The Des Moines Register published a letter to the editor on Feb. 6 from Brett Walderbach (click here to see it) about former Iowa running back Adam Robinson. In today’s (Feb. 26) Register, a rebuttal written by Robinson’s mother, Sally Robinson, was published.
Robinson was suffered a concussion during the season. He missed part of a game afterward because of what Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz called “academic indigestion.” He was suspended before the Hawkeyes’ bowl trip to Arizona, was arrested in Des Moines for marijuana possession, and was dismissed from the squad on Jan. 3. He was Iowa’s leading rusher in the 2009 and 2010 seasons.
Excerpts from Sally Robinson’s letter, which you can see in its entirety here at the Register’s site:
As the accumulation of the hits and the concussions took control of (Adam’s) body and mind, affecting his academics, his problem-solving skills, his performance on the field, his ability to cope with the demands on his time, and his health — he began to founder. The second chance that Adam really needed was guidance and direction. He was told he was fine — his brain was healed — but he wasn’t. He didn’t understand what was going on — why some symptoms continued when he should have been back to a pre-concussed state. …
Had there been a collective effort to monitor him medically, academically and psychologically, they would have been able to determine that Adam needed help — not because he didn’t value his team, not because he didn’t value his chances — but because he was suffering mentally.
— Sally Robinson, Des Moines
Adam Robinson has publicly apologized for his arrest, and said he hopes Ferentz will reopen the door for him to rejoin the program. No indication that will ever happen has been forthcoming.
I’m not sure Sally Robinson’s letter will help her son attain that goal. But I’m also not sure Robinson ever had a chance of coming back as it was.
-u20042.png?1366232523)
Mike, I don’t think whether or not he has the chance to rejoin the team was on Mrs. Robinson’s mind when she wrote this, do you? The question is whether these young men are having their brains, bodies and lives permanently damaged to entertain a bunch of middle-aged, testosterone-challenged university donors. Sure, it’s possible he just made bad decisions without any help from traumatic brain injury at all, but, coming from someone who knew him this well, her assessment should merit at least some consideration, especially following Dave Duerson’s suicide.
I’m not contesting what she said, Kristi, and I think her comments do merit consideration.
I know that I’m no medical expert. I hope her son gets well and stays well. In my limited dealings with him, I liked him.
Ferentz>>>>>>>>does he know how to telll the truth?, what is he on???
You want to elaborate on that, Doug, or are you just content to throw an incendiary statement up here and leave it at that?
If Adam’s brain has been damaged by football and he is mentally struggling because of concussions, why would his mother want him to continue?
That’s a good point, Torrie. From the excerpt, I’m not sure that she did or does, though. Walderback says Robinson doesn’t deserve a second chance because he has character deficiencies. His mother, appropriately, defends her son, indicating his behavior changed dramatically following his concussion and wondering if whether head injuries might be to blame for that. Mike took the discussion back to the original question of “should he get another chance.” My point is that I think he *should* get another chance at life, if that is at all possible — his condition should be evaluated and treated. I think football should be the least of the considerations.
Think about it. We pay the head football coach of one of our state universities dozens of times more money than almost any other state employee including brilliant physicians, scientists, researchers, state troopers and child protection workers who risk their lives to save others, lawyers and judges, teachers, engineers that design and build our infrastructure for commerce and safety, etc, etc., etc…all at a time when many of those talented people are at risk of being pink slipped from their job or at least devalued for the work they do. And what do we get for that $3 million/year salary..? A bonafide expert at teaching young men to be the “best” at behaving in extraordinarily violent ways that would get them arrested and thrown in jail in any other setting outside of that football field. “Success” is earned by taking a little leather ball across a chalk line at one end of a field and through extraordinarily viscious “hits” of violence perpetrated against other young people they don’t even know. It’s all entertainment I guess. I don’t blame Kurt Ferentz or any other coach. They’re are just, in effect, the whores we’ve hired to entertain us in this way. And everyone who makes a buck at it are prostituting themselves in a similar fashion. It’s a reflection of our society and how we choose to live our lives and actualize our real values. Is there anything rational about it at all? No, but neither does it make sense for an institution of higher learning to claim membership in an athletic conference that consists of twelve teams and calls itself “The Big Ten.” What is the cost of this craziness? Ask Adam Robinson. He must have been a hard working, dedicated athlete. I hope his brain wasn’t damaged so much that he isn’t able to see the craziness of his past behavior no matter how much attention he received for it. Take those skills and move on to other fields Adam.
Possibly the worst post of the year Michael!
Who is this “Kurt Ferentz” fella that you reference?
When 75,000 people pay $50+ to watch you do you job you can be paid $3 million a year. Until then quit whining. It’s been said time and time again that Kirk earns every penny of his salary.
Not sure Michael if that is an ivory tower or a soap box you are on but your impassioned plea will likely fall on deaf ears; drowned out by the sound of 70000 fans who pay big bucks to see the Hawks. I’m not saying that it is right but I applaud your enthusiasm and conviction.
Michael, in the words of John Mellencamp in “Pink Houses” … ain’t that America?
I hope for young Mr. Robinson’s sake that he gives up his effort to return to football. He has had two concussions in a year and his subsequent behavior is something his mother says is out of character, and I tend to believe her. Just how much is enough? Two concussions should retire you from football, period. The stakes are too high.