Kenny Robinson, the former West Virginia Mountaineer turned XFL player, opened up in-depth on The Players Tribune today. Robinson, who left Morgantown under suspicious circumstances, revealed exactly what happened and expressed remorse for his actions.
Robinson started the letter to NFL General Managers by saying, “The past 18 months have been the craziest of my life. It started with a phone call in November 2018, near the end of my sophomore season at West Virginia.”
Robinson recounted receiving a phone call from his brother and sister, informing him that his mother had had a stroke. His mother, who he loves more than anyone in the world, had a life-threatening emergency and he had to go visit here. She recovered and he went back to school. A few months later, however, he was driving to his mom’s house and there were emergency vehicles there. She had another stroke. Again, she recovered and he returned to Morgantown for spring practice.
Less than a week later, his mom called. She told him that she had colon cancer. In the letter to the GMs, Robinson said, “I went to my coaches, told them the news and went home to see my mom and be with my family. My mom hadn’t been working since her first stroke, and now she definitely wasn’t going back to work. So the biggest question — besides her health — was how we were going to replace her income and help support the family, especially with all the medical bills piling up.
I told myself that I would put it on my shoulders. The rest of my family was already doing so much. I felt that I had to work harder than ever to achieve my dream of making it to the NFL so that they could lean on me and I could take care of my mom.”
When he returned to school, however, he made a huge mistake. In his own words, “he got lazy with his schoolwork” and he started to have friends help him with his online classes. A friend turned in his work at the time that he was supposed to be in a team meeting and the university became suspicious.
He had a meeting with The Office of Student Conduct and was going to be investigated for academic dishonesty. Following the investigation, he was kicked out of school.
Robinson said, “I have no problem admitting it. I cheated. I got caught. I made a stupid decision, and I don’t have any excuses. I had the opportunity to do the right thing, and I chose to do the wrong thing. That’s it. I own that.”
Telling his mom what happened was the hardest thing in the world for him because he honestly thought it might kill her. He thought about transferring, but decided to go to the XFL. He was drafted in the 5th round by the St. Louis Battlehawks and was finally able to help his family, particularly his mother, financially. That was huge for him.
In his letter to NFL GMs, he closes by saying that he’s the most NFL-ready prospect in the draft because he’s already played professional football in the draft. He went on to say that the NFL team that picks him won’t be sorry.
Although Robinson left Morgantown under less than ideal conditions, he will always be a Mountaineer and his explanation to what happened clarifies what many of us already knew. With that said, we wish him the very best in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Full article letter below:
