Duke football player apologizes to trainer after swatting her arm away during injury timeout

Duke cornerback Kimari Robinson has issued an apology after swatting the arm of a member of the Blue Devils' training staff while she was attending to an injured teammate of his during the team's loss to North Carolina on Saturday.

In a video that went viral over the weekend, Robinson is seen standing over teammate DaShawn Stone, who was injured, lying on the turf. A female trainer was then seen running onto the scene, giving Robinson an innocent nudge so she could get into a position to attend to Stone. Robinson reacted by swatting her arm away.

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In an apology he shared on X, Robinson explained that he checked on the trainer immediately after the game before issuing the public apology on Sunday.

Members of the Duke Blue Devils warm up prior to the game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Wallace Wade Stadium on October 17, 2026 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Alex Halloway/Getty Images) (Alex Halloway/Getty Images)

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"I want to publicly apologize to the member of our training staff for how I acted toward her during Saturday’s game. I was completely wrong, and she did not deserve that," Robinson wrote.

"Immediately after the game, I apologized to her personally and checked to make sure she was okay. The injured player on the ground, DaShawn Stone, is like family to me, and I was scared he might be seriously hurt. But being worried about him does not excuse how I treated her. I should have controlled my emotions, and I didn’t. I’m truly sorry for my actions and for letting her, myself and our program down. I have to be better than that."

Head coach Manny Diaz of the Duke Blue Devils looks on during warm ups ahead of the game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Wallace Wade Stadium on October 17, 2026 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Alex Halloway/Getty Images) (Alex Halloway/Getty Images)

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The injury to Stone and the incident that followed occurred during the third quarter of Duke's 24-20 loss to the Tar Heels. A stretcher was brought out for Stone, but he ultimately was able to walk to the locker room under his own power.

Robinson and Stone are both redshirt juniors who have played alongside each other for the last four years at Duke.

A general view of the field during the second half of the game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils at Wallace Wade Stadium on October 17, 2026 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Alex Halloway/Getty Images) (Alex Halloway/Getty Images)

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Robinson, a Miramar, FL native, finished Saturday's contest against North Carolina with three tackles.

After beginning the season 4-0, the Blue Devils have lost back-to-back games in the ACC, falling to Georgia Tech and North Carolina by a combined seven points.