Hall of Famer David Robinson was at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, earlier this month for the Final Four festivities, where he had an unpleasant encounter with a fan. An individual approached Robinson to have his jersey signed, and when the request was denied, he tossed it at the 59-year-old’s feet.
This was quite disrespectful. Robinson seemed to be telling the fan that he can’t sign it right now and that he had to keep the line moving. That didn’t go down well with the fan as he dropped the jersey and didn’t even bother looking back.
Robinson and another individual appeared to be telling the fan that he dropped the jersey, but soon realized that it was intentional. You can understand someone being a bit frustrated there, but that reaction was way over the top.
While some might criticize Robinson for not doing something as simple as signing a jersey, it appears fans were informed beforehand that he wouldn’t be doing that. A San Antonio Spurs fan on X claimed that everyone had been told that Robinson would only take pictures.
“Everyone waiting in line knew ahead of time that David Robinson was there ONLY to take photos and the event coordinators kept mentioning no autographs would be signed. Mr Robinson might be one of the nicest people ever. F that fake fan s*** trying to make a quick buck.”
If this is indeed true, then it’s hard to have much sympathy for this individual. It was surprising to see Robinson turn down the request because, as the Spurs fan stated, he has always been a class act.
You’d struggle to find too many people who’d have negative things to say about Robinson as a person. Shaquille O’Neal used to be one of them, as he once claimed that Robinson refused to give him an autograph when he was a teenager. O’Neal later admitted he just made it all up and explained why.
“David Robinson is my favorite player ever. I loved David Robinson. I loved him so much that I had to make up a fake story to be able to play against him. Cuz David was a nice man, I met him in high school… When I was in high school, he met me, he was like, “Oh, how you doin’ nice to meet you’, and I’m like, ‘Wow, what a nice man’. So when I had to play against him, I had to make up a story in my head… Cuz me, when I’m upset, I play better and I play harder.”
As O’Neal stated, Robinson is one of the good ones. He made a great impression on everyone both on and off the court.
Robinson played 14 seasons in the NBA after the Spurs drafted him with the first pick of the 1987 Draft. He didn’t play in the league for the first two years, as he had to fulfill his active-duty obligation with the Navy.
So, the Spurs had to wait a while to see Robinson suit up for them, but he was well worth the wait. He won two titles, an MVP, a DPOY, and a scoring title in his career.
Robinson won that second championship in the final game of his career in Game 6 of the 2003 NBA Finals against the New Jersey Nets. He walked away from the game with averages of 21.1 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.4 steals, and 3.0 blocks per game in his career.
