Center discusses disappearance, treatment, the Raiders

[PA Season Ticket Holder]

Barrett Robbins disappeared for nearly 24 hours before Super Bowl XXXVII. Now, for the first time since his disappearance, the Raiders' All-Pro center has gone public, telling his story to Andrea Kremer on Outside the Lines Nightly.

During their extensive interview, Robbins is asked by Kremer, "You are in Tijuana, do you even realize 'I am away from the team'?"

Robbins responds: "No, I didn't. The hardest part to me is that the feeling I had was that the game was over and we had won and that was the way I felt ... it's crazy to me."

The edited transcript:

ANDREA KREMER: You win the AFC championship game, you only have one week before the Super Bowl. What was Super Bowl week like for you from the start even?

ROBBINS: It was surreal ... looking back on it, it was almost like it wasn't happening. It was a whirlwind ... it really was.

KREMER: At what point during the week are you starting to feel something, I don't know what something is, you need to tell me, but what point?

ROBBINS: Wednesday I started to feel different ... started to go through ... the signs of this bipolar episode ... the first signs ... a real odd, scared feeling, and it got worse.

VOICEOVER: Bipolar disorder is a stress-sensitive condition associated with a chemical imbalance in the brain and marked by extreme mood swings. More than half of those diagnosed with bipolar disorder have problems with alcohol and/or substance abuse. It is manageable ... but not curable.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/news/2003/0612/1566970.html

[The_Philster]

If Barret Robbins can pull this off, he should be admired more than any other player who has ever worked for Al Davis.


If the Raiders' center can take his medication every day, if he can stop drinking after almost 20 years, if he can win the trust of those who still feel bitterly betrayed, if the meds that control his mania don't strip his competitive desire, if he can walk away from the verbal abuse of other teams, if he can handle the cold-hearted nature of the NFL, if Robbins can do all that and remain an All-Pro, we bow....

more (http://www.pressdemo.com/column/padecky/13padecky_c11.html)

[The_Philster]

You want to know when Barret Robbins will be forgiven by the Oakland Raiders for his bipolar episode on Super Bowl Eve?

Easy. The day he goes back into the Raiders' starting lineup.

These are, after all, the Raiders. And this is, after all, the National Football League. Forgiveness has nothing to do with it.

Oh, forgiveness matters in the Robbins household. It matters that Robbins finds a way to reconcile his illness and alcoholism with himself and his family, and that he feels he can remain a Raider, or at the very least a football player....

more (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2003/06/13/SP299691.DTL)

[The_Philster]

SAN JOSE, Calif. - A harsh critic of Barret Robbins after the Raiders center's Super Bowl no-show, guard Frank Middleton seems ready to forgive, if not forget.

"We're still mending fences," Middleton said Thursday at the start of a three-day mini-camp, where Robbins took part in his first practice since he disappeared from workouts and meetings on the eve of the Raiders' 48-21 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"Everything is not great, but it's getting better. We're working together as a family to get past it," Middleton said. "He messed up, but he went through his punishment. He's gone through rehabilitation. He paid his price."...

more (http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/sports/football/nfl/6076886.htm)

[The_Philster]

Irving, Texas -- Center Barret Robbins sounded Thursday night like he may have played his final game as a Raider, and there was little argument otherwise.

Though he played the entire second half in a miserable 52-13 gutting by the Cowboys, the lack of progress behind the scenes may doom Robbins to the waiver wire. Raiders senior assistant Bruce Allen met Thursday with Robbins' agent, Drew Pittman, at the team's hotel in North Dallas, but no agreement has been reached regarding a restructure of the Pro Bowler's $3.2 million salary for 2003.

The Raiders have made it clear Robbins must accept a substantial pay cut to remain on the 53-man roster, and Robbins completely agrees. ...

more (http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/08/29/SP149745.DTL)

[The_Philster]

Pro Bowler regains job as starting center
Eight months after he disappeared from his team on the eve of its biggest game, Barret Robbins is back in the Raiders' lineup.

Coach Bill Callahan said Wednesday that Robbins, the Pro Bowl center whose career was nearly ended by his well-publicized binge at the Super Bowl, will start Sunday against the Chargers at the Coliseum.

Matt Stinchcomb had been the starter the first three games and by all accounts played well, but Callahan didn't hesitate to make the switch when Robbins said he was ready. ...

more (http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/09/25/SPG301U0RJ1.DTL)

[Cntrygal]

OK.. he "regains" the starter job. But how many of his teammates will have it in the back of their minds that he may "quit" on them again?

[The_Philster]

Originally posted by Cntrygal
OK.. he "regains" the starter job. But how many of his teammates will have it in the back of their minds that he may "quit" on them again?

I've gotta think most of them do.

[The_Philster]

Barret Robbins' tumultuous fall from grace was the stuff of headlines in the winter. But his inspiring return to the Raiders' starting lineup, as well as his hard-fought battle to overcome alcoholism and bipolar disorder, deserve equal or greater billing.

The Pro Bowl center was a big part of the Raiders' 34-31 overtime victory over San Diego on Sunday at the Coliseum, providing expert calls and undeniable chemistry with quarterback Rich Gannon. It's no coincidence that the presence of Robbins' 6-foot-3, 320-pound frame in the Raiders' run- blocking schemes helped set up the team's most balanced attack since last season. ...
more (http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/09/29/SPGG220M6J1.DTL)