‘Can’t Happen,’ ‘She Handled It Poorly’ — Fans Divided After Kevin Kelley Calls Out Duke CB Kimari Robinson for Swiping at Female Trainer

Matthew Cannata Sun, October 18, 2026 at 12:07 PM UTC

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A general view of a Duke Blue Devils helmet at Wallace Wade Stadium. (Zachary Taft-Imagn Images)Kimari Robinson was standing over an injured teammate when a female athletic trainer reached him and tried to move him out of the way. The Duke junior cornerback swiped at her, and ESPN cameras caught it during Saturday’s 24-20 loss to North Carolina at Wallace Wade Stadium.

Kimari Robinson was standing over an injured teammate when a female athletic trainer reached him and tried to move him out of the way. The Duke junior cornerback swiped at her, and ESPN cameras caught it during Saturday’s 24-20 loss to North Carolina at Wallace Wade Stadium.

High school football coach Kevin Kelley posted the clip Saturday evening and called out Duke’s football program over it. The response has been divided over two questions — whether medical staff get to clear the scene, and whether the trainer making contact first excused Robinson’s reaction.

Kevin Kelley Calls Out Duke Over the Swipe

Kelley wrote that the swipe “can’t happen” and put the burden on the player: “He needs to listen to her and know where he should be.”

The injury was serious enough that a stretcher came out, but the player got up and walked off the field on his own.

One quote tweet of Kelley’s post argued for the trainer by pointing to what trainers do.

“Athletic trainers are first responders on the field. They stabilize spines, manage concussions, and literally keep players alive,” it read. The post went on to say that trainers shouldn’t have to deal with players swinging at them for clearing space.

Another viewer imagined being the injured player’s mother and said she would be demanding punishment. “How dare he take even a second of a medical staff’s mental attention away from my son,” she wrote.

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A third argued that Robinson didn’t step back until a man walked over and told him to.

Kimari Robinson’s Defenders Say the Trainer Pushed First

Plenty of fans saw it the other way and said the trainer made contact first. One reply took on Kelley’s point about listening: “Can’t listen to her if she doesn’t speak. She handled it poorly coming in and shoving him away. I don’t blame the kid.”

Another quote tweet said “there was no reason for her to push him when all she was going to do was watch.” Others insisted she had room to kneel beside the injured player without touching Robinson at all.

Some replies landed in the middle. “They are both wrong, she shouldn’t have pushed him and he didn’t have to swing at her like that,” one read. Others called for Robinson to be suspended or kicked off the team, while one hoped he got a talking-to once the emotions of the game had cooled.

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Kelley closed his post by asking where the line is if a player won’t listen to the trainer trying to reach his injured teammate.

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.

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Source: “AOL Sports”