"I love the guy. He's been a terrific player." -- Kirk Ferentz on Adam Robinson, 10/28/10
"He's going to be going somewhere else. I don't know what's going to happen, but he's not going to be with us." -- Kirk Ferentz on Adam Robinson, yesterday.
It's officially over. Adam Robinson won't be returning to the Iowa Hawkeyes, either now or ever, according to both Kirk Ferentz and Robinson's own mother. Robinson intends to transfer in time to enroll in summer school, though he does not yet know where that might be. "He'll end up someplace, and he'll be successful," she said.
As has been previously discussed, Robinson's problems began in early November, when he missed time after sustaining a concussion. He was later benched for the first quarter of Iowa's game with Ohio State for what Ferentz called "academic indigestion." He suffered another concussion against Ohio State, and missed the last game of the season. That was followed by a bowl suspension, again reportedly academics-related. Finally, on the eve of Iowa's Insight Bowl win over Missouri, Robinson was arrested in Des Moines for possession of marijuana. It was the last straw; Ferentz dismissed Robinson from the program almost immediately upon returning from Arizona.
Then came the drama, as Robinson went to the newspapers, attorney at his side, to make his case to return to the program. It was the most ill-advised media move since DJK wore sunglasses; I don't know Ferentz personally, but I would presume from prior statements that if there's one group of people which he holds in as low a regard as the media, it's lawyers. Complicating matters was the fact Robinson hadn't privately consulted with Kirk; in February, weeks after Robinson's ill-fated press tour, Ferentz told the press he hadn't heard from Robinson since the dismissal, a surefire sign that the Captain was slightly nonplussed with Robinson's tactics. At that point, the door was as good as closed. Ferentz opened it slightly this spring, but he has never reversed an excommunication, and it never seemed particularly likely he would now.
Yesterday's statements from both Chicago and Des Moines bring this story to its end. The writing was on the wall last week, though. On Marty Tirrell's radio show, Ferentz was asked if there would be some sort of reconciliation. "It's already happened," said Ferentz. Tirrell thought he had made news, but it was the next statement that showed what Ferentz really meant: "We've closed the book, we're moving on." As much reconciliation as there was going to be had already happened. There might be no hard feelings, but this chapter was over.
We've obviously been sympathetic to Robinson's cause, and his contributions to the program over the last two seasons were as significant as they were unexpected. We thank him for those contributions and his significant sacrifice for the program we love, and we wish him the best wherever he lands.