Koren Robinson

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Koren Robinson
Koren Robinson's mugshot from August 2006 arrest
Date of birth	March 19, 1980
Place of birth	Belmont, North Carolina
Position(s)	Wide Receiver
College	N.C. State
NFL Draft	2001 / Round 1/ Pick 9
Team(s)
2001–2004 2005 2006-current	Seattle Seahawks Minnesota Vikings Green Bay Packers

Koren Robinson (born March 19, 1980 in Belmont, North Carolina) is an American football wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers of the NFL. He was drafted in the first round (9th overall) of the 2001 NFL Draft out of N.C. State by the Seattle Seahawks. He has also played for the Minnesota Vikings.

Robinson's best season was in 2002, when his 78 catches and 1,240 yards receiving made him the second Seahawks player, after Hall of Famer Steve Largent, with a 1,200-yard season. Robinson made the 2006 Pro Bowl as the NFC's kick returner.

On September 11, 2006 Koren Robinson signed a 2 year contract with the Green Bay Packers. Packers General Manager Ted Thompson, who had a past relationship with Robinson in Seattle, orchestrated the deal. The Packers hope Robinson will give them a #3 Wide Receiver, and a bona fide kick returner. He was only able to play for Green Bay for four games and only make seven catches before the NFL announced on October 18th, 2006 he would be suspended for a minimum of one year for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy.

[edit] Battle With Alcoholism

Robinson was arrested for drunk driving in May, 2005, and pleaded guilty to one count of driving under the influence. Prior to this he had also been suspended four games for violating the substance abuse policy in 2004 and completed an offseason alcohol rehabilitation program. He was subsequently released by the Seahawks. Coach Mike Holmgren was reduced to tears over the release because he said he'd prayed for Robinson every day, but said it had to be done because he was given many chances, gave many apologies and promises, and never came through on them. Upon his next violation it would be a mandatory one year suspension. On August 1, 2005, Robinson checked himself into a 28-day alcohol rehabilitation program in South Carolina. Afterwards the Vikings snapped him up for the 2005 season and gave him a 2nd chance.

During the 2005 Minnesota Vikings boat cruise scandal, Robinson was angry the Star Tribune associated him with the incident saying "I wasn't there, as far as the whole situation, I just know I wasn't on the boat, and I don't want to get involved. I don't want my name brought up because of what I just went through and what I'm still going through. So for my name to be brought up like that is just crazy and upsetting, because I don't want anyone looking at me because I had nothing to do with it."

On July 6th, 2006 Koren Robinson's agent, Alvin Keels, told the press Koren checked back into the South Carolina rehab center but did nothing wrong and would not go into details. When Koren heard it in the news he angrily denied he was in rehab and said he did not have a relapse. Koren said he just went in for a couple of relapse prevention classes to ensure his alcohol problems do not return.

On Tuesday August 16th, 2006 during the 2006 pre-season it was reported that Robinson was again arrested and incarcerated for "driving while impaired". This was the day after he was praised by ESPN's Joey Sunshine and many others in the press for his "proactive" approach to his struggles with alcohol and turning his life around. He was arrested at 10:45 pm just before he was supposed to be back to training camp in Mankato, MN. Charges of drunken driving, fleeing police (felony), reckless driving, and driving without a valid license are pending as of August 2006. The police report said he was clocked going at over 100 mph and he was charged with having a blood alcohol limit of .11 (.08 is the legal limit in Minnesota.) [1] He could also face some serious probation violation charges. It was later reported that 5 days before this arrest Koren received a citation on the same street for driving without a valid state license an hour after training camp curfew.

Robinson was released by the Vikings on Saturday August 26, 2006 [2]. The Vikings' decision resulted in Robinson and his agent filing a union grievance since the collective bargaining agreement prohibits teams from releasing players for disciplinary reasons. [3] Robinson was healthy and was a starter when the arrest occurred but the Vikings cited two other reasons for his dismisal: "unsatisfactory performance compared to other players at the same position and personal conduct that adversely affected the team." Prior to the 2006 NFL season, Robinson had re-signed with the Vikings, a three-year contract worth up to $12.7 million USD of which Robinson has received $1.1 million USD.