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September 18, 2018
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September 18, 2018
Former Vandebilt Catholic quarterback Andrew Robison’s high school playing career is likely over.
The embattled standout athlete had his day in Louisiana High School Athletic Association appeals court this past week after he was suspended for the entire 2018-19 athletic season for a recruiting violation involving his transfer from Vandebilt Catholic to Hahnville.
In his appeal, Robison spoke at length about the process, making an emotional plea for the association to allow him to compete with the Tigers.
But after listening to the appeal and entering into a short Executive Session, the committee voted unanimously to uphold the suspension and continue the suspension.
After the ruling, Robison asked the committee what he could have done differently throughout the process. His father, Drew Robison, belittled the process, asking if they’d been listening to the testimony.
The Robison’s are currently exploring other avenues to appeal the decision higher, including reportedly seeking legal counsel to push the decision into the courts.
An online petition to remove Robison’s suspension also generated thousands of signatures over the weekend and several well-known sports media personalities have spoken out about the case — mostly in favor of the Robison family and against the LHSAA.
THE DAY IN COURT
Robison had pointed words for his former school during his appeal.
He said that once his father, Drew Robison, was relieved of his duties as Vandebilt Catholic’s boys’ basketball coach, the family’s relationship with Terriers’ football coach Jeremy Atwell deteriorated — especially once it became apparent that the family was going to move out of the school this year.
Robison testified that Atwell would pull him out of classes and in some exchanges, the coach told the pupil that he hoped the quarterback would fail at his next school. In the testimony, Robison said that the coach planned to say, “I told you so,” once that would take place.
The quarterback said that his locker was also broken into and he had hundreds of dollars worth of gear stolen from it. He said he saw students wearing his gear around campus in the weeks after the alleged incident.
A source of conversation during a lot of Robison’s case involved a photo of him taken in a Hahnville jersey while still enrolled at Vandebilt Catholic. The jersey was to be used for a prominent Louisiana prep football magazine. He testified that he wanted to wear a Vandebilt Catholic jersey, but was denied.
He then got a Hahnville jersey from a player at the school. During the testimony, Tigers coach Nick Saltaformaggio, said he was OK with the photoshoot, because it was believed that the quarterback was going to be attending the school in the fall.
The timing of the photoshoot was in the late-spring when Robison was not yet at the River Parish school.
The LHSAA did not give a detailed explanation for what evidence it had regarding Robison’s suspension, though in the bylaws it cited in the decision, it was apparent that the situation pertained to recruiting. Wearing a jersey of an opposing school while enrolled at another could be considered a form of recruiting, but Saltaformaggio and Robison both denied that there was any swaying involved to get the talented passer to the school.
Drew Robison was rumored to be headed to Hahnville to be an assistant boys’ basketball coach, which would have prompted the move for the family.
But he has never been listed on the school’s coaching roster on the LHSAA website. The family’s has a younger son and he remains enrolled at a Houma private school at press-time.
The Times reached out to the LHSAA for comment on the ruling, but none were returned at press-time. Typically, the LHSAA’s stance is that they do not comment on pending investigations, but with the case now appealed, a report should be issued in the coming days by the association.
VCHS SILENT, BUT WHISPERS ESCAPE THE CRACKS
Throughout this process, Vandebilt Catholic High School officials have been silent — except for a statement after the initial suspension that said the school would support Robison being able to play in 2018. But in that statement, the school also said that they supported the LHSAA’s findings of recruitment 100 percent.
Following the team’s loss at Shaw on Saturday morning, Atwell was asked about the situation and declined comment.
He told The Times this summer that losing Robison was “a blow,” adding that he was a “special talent” and a “wonderful kid.” He added that the Terriers had other players who could play the position and the team would take a “next man up” approach to replacing him.
At the time of Drew Robison’s dismissal, he thanked Atwell and officials at Vandebilt in multiple interviews. The timing of those comments is now in question because if Andrew Robison’s testimony is true, the family’s relationship with Atwell would have likely become tense by the time the firing had leaked publicly late last spring.
Also at question is an interview done by Andrew Robison to River Parish Football in late-May. In it, he said that his time at Vandebilt was the “best three years possible.”
Again, if testimony at the LHSAA hearing were true, this late-May interview would have taken place after the alleged stealing and mistreatment had taken place.
“I’ve had the best past 3 years possible with an awesome high school coach, Jeremy Atwell,” Robison told River Parish Football. “I’m really excited for my senior season at Hahnville.”
In the same interview, Drew Robison, also again expressed praise for Vandebilt and Atwell.
“It was especially difficult for me, because I was very attached to Coach Atwell,” Drew Robison said.
After the LHSAA ruling, the slant of several stories was critical toward Vandebilt and columns were posted in prominent papers criticizing both the school and the LHSAA for their ruling. Commentary on those stories have piled on throughout social media with a lot of the public sentiment being in favor of the Robison family.
Those stories, combined with the social media commentary, have formed cracks in the silence surrounding the school.
Several parents of Vandebilt Catholic student-athletes have spoken to The Times this week, vehemently denying some of the claims made by Robison at the podium during his hearing, asking why more legwork hasn’t been done to give Vandebilt a voice in the media process.
The parents asked to not be named in our story. The Times granted that request because of the amount of people who spoke out and the consistency of their stories.
“There were a lot of lies in the things that were said,” one parent said. “We feel for the kid and we wish that he could get to play, but to say those things, they’re just not true.”
About the allegations of mistreatment from Atwell, multiple parents said it was not mentioned that Atwell also would meet with Robison to enable him to meet with collegiate scouts who would visit the school to see the quarterback.
The parents said Atwell has treated their children “nothing but fairly” during their times with the school.
About the allegations of a broken locker and stolen gear, several parents said that Robison went around campus giving away his clothing during his final weeks of school, knowing that he wouldn’t be back with the program the following year.
“He was giving his things away willingly to his friends and his teammates,” the father of a student-athlete said. “Stealing is a strong word — especially at a private Catholic school. He was giving his things away.”
The parents who spoke to The Times said they were not going to express themselves in the media, but they didn’t like the way the school was getting condemned in the media without a chance to explain themselves.
“There are two sides to every story,” a source said. “But only one side is being given a voice. Please know that. Please let them know that.”
WHAT HAPPENS NOW
After the ruling, the Robison family expressed immediate disappointment. Drew Robison has posted multiple messages on social media expressing his disappointment on social media.
He said the process was “fixed” before the hearing.
He has challenged the LHSAA to show publicly exactly what rules were broken in the case involving his son, adding that their lack of details shows that the process is flawed.
After the ruling, the family released a statement, which echoed those sentiments.
“We are at this point for one reason and one reason only: a former coach made the conscious decision that if Andrew was not going to play for him, then he would play for no one else,” the statement reads. “That coach, upset because his ability to compete was diminished (ironically due to his own school’s decision to terminate Mr. Robison), pettily refused to let Andrew wear his jersey to a photo shoot. Andrew committed no wrongdoing whatsoever, under any interpretation of any rule, yet he suffers the greatest consequence.”
The family added that they will attempt to get courts involved in an effort to return Robison to the field.
But time is ticking and the season is now in Week 3, which means that time is not on the side of the family in an effort to find a solution.
Both schools in the crossfires will play-on, as well. The Terriers are 1-2 on the season, as are Hahnville. Ironically, both teams are struggling offensively, which, ironically, is Robison’s specialty.
Saltaformaggio will return from his four-game suspension next week.
Vandebilt Catholic said they would offer a resolution in January at the LHSAA’s Annual Convention which would fix situations like this in the future.
If Robison is never able to play again at the prep level, it is a blow to his future, but it likely isn’t damning. He is being recruiting by several colleges and will likely have a home at the next level if he chooses to pursue it.
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