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1996
Barret Robbins misses the last two games of the season with what the Raiders at first call the flu. The Raiders later change the description to a reaction to flu medication and then change it again to a reaction to depression medication.
1997
Robbins describes his problem as ''a battle within your head. It's not an easy thing to deal with. Anybody who can overcome something like that is bound to be a better person in all aspects of life.''
Robbins' mother and father reportedly have experienced similar symptoms over the years. Robbins also is reported to have had a similar episode before his senior season at Texas Christian University. However, TCU's trainer, Russ Bailey, says that if Robbins had issues with depression while at the school "it didn't happen on my watch." Bailey was TCU's trainer since 1977. "Odds are if it were anything big, I'd have known about it," Bailey said. "One thing I do know is he never missed a snap in college."
A Raiders medical staff member says anonymously: ''We're confident his problem is under control. We're fairly certain this will no longer be a problem.''
Joe Bugel, then the Raiders head coach, says: ''Barret's so much better now than he was last year, physically and mentally. He has that gleam in his eyes. The players rallied around him.''
The 2002 season
Backup center Adam Treu takes many of the snaps with the starting unit in practices because of Robbins' frequent and unexplained absences.
Raiders head coach Bill Callahan has issues with Robbins late in the season and tries to bench him in favor of Treu. Owner Al Davis vetoes the benching. "Too much money," guard Frank Middleton later says, referring to Robbins salary.
Super Bowl week
Robbins is visibly withdrawn much of the week, sitting off to the side during media interview sessions and avoiding eye contact. The Raiders list him as questionable for the Super Bowl because of foot and knee injuries.
The Raiders try to keep tabs on Robbins' whereabouts throughout the week. "There were efforts all week to keep him, not so much under surveillance, but to make sure that the team knew where he was," a team source later says. "Obviously, he slipped through."
Friday, January 24, 2003
Robbins is in his hotel room for the the team's 11 p.m. Pacific bed check.
Saturday, January 25, 2003
A San Leandro, CA, businessman is part of a group that spends Saturday with Robbins, drinking heavily into the afternoon. "He was crying and totally depressed about his life and the pressure he was under," Cartier Dise later says. "The truth is, this guy was messed up. All he could think about was his family, his two daughters. He was talking about killing himself, saying he was disappointing people and he had a lot of people to support financially and he was letting them all down. ... Everybody was doing shots of tequila. B-Robb was buying rounds for everybody and it was pretty crazy." Dise, 25, owns and operates a vehicle-customizing business, Down Low Customs, that sells chrome accessories for cars and SUVs. Raiders players say he has provided rims and wheels for their vehicles. He declines to specify the location of Robbins' drinking binge.
Four Raiders teammates, speaking on the condition of anonymity, later say Robbins spent at least part of Saturday drinking in Tijuana, Mexico.
Robbins misses the Raiders' first team meeting Saturday as well as the walkthrough practice at Qualcomm Stadium.
Two Raiders fans and a bar worker see Robbins at Moon Doggy's, a bar in Pacific Beach, early Saturday night. Robbins is sitting in a booth by himself in the back of the bar. He is crying at one point. The two fans hear Robbins muttering to himself and engage him in conversation. "He was more upset than anything else," one of the fans says later. "He just looked lost. We thought, 'What's he doing by himself?' " Robbins acknowledges one of the fans who is asked if he is going through family problems. "We said, 'Hey, we got to get you home. We want you to play good tomorrow,'" one of the fans later says. "We gave the cab driver 20 bucks and told him to take him back to the Hyatt."
Robbins finally contacts someone from the Raiders at about 45 minutes before the team's final meeting Saturday at 8 p.m. PT. Robbins is told not to attend the meeting. Callahan tells the team that Robbins will not start the Super Bowl and that Treu will start in his place. Callahan indicates that Robbins still will be available to play.
Robbins arrives at the Raiders' team hotel. "He was disoriented and shaky. He looked terrible," a Raiders player says later.
Sunday, January 26, 2003
At 10 a.m. PT, Callahan makes the decision to remove Robbins from the team for the Super Bowl. Raiders senior assistant Bruce Allen informs Robbins, and the Raiders call Robbins' wife, Marisa, at the hotel housing Raiders family members. Robbins is ordered removed from the team hotel, and Robbins' wife takes Robbins to the Raiders' family hotel.
On advice of agent Drew Pittman, Robbins is taken to a hospital for observation.
The Raiders are routed by the Bucs 48-21 in the Super Bowl.
The Raiders say Robbins' absence did not have a bearing on the loss, but many express anger about his absence.
Middleton says: "A lot of players were out partying this week -- I mean, it's the Super Bowl and you've got to enjoy the moment. But the rest of us were in by the 2 a.m. curfew. You can have fun, but you've got to take care of your business. We've been saying all year we had problems to deal with on our offensive line and now you know. Barret is gonna do what he's gonna do. But when it affects your teammates, that hurts, man.
"I probably won't be back here next year, a lot of us won't," Middleton adds, referencing the Raiders' salary-cap issues. "But I'll tell you this -- if Barret Robbins comes back, I won't. You can print that. I want to play with people I can rely on. I don't want to go into next year worrying about some cat making it to the game.
"We're a family. We broke bread together. We hung out together. We went to the movies. And he let us down at crunch time. It hurts. It hurt everybody. It would be hard to put your neck out for somebody that didn't put his neck out for you. He betrayed the offensive line. Forget the team; he betrayed us. All year we tried to build a bond. And when crunch time comes and when one of your family members doesn't come through, it hurts."
Left guard Mo Collins on why Robbins was absent: "Too much bad tequila. ... Whatever rock he came up from, he can stay there as far as I'm concerned. I would welcome him back as a business partner, but not as a brother. A brother wouldn't leave you hanging like that."
Raiders linebacker Bill Romonowski: "The guy has got a problem, and he has to do what he has to do to get some help. I'm not aware of anything (specific), but for someone to miss a Saturday walk-through, he's got to have something wrong in his life."
Wide receiver Tim Brown: "Barret's Barret. There has been stuff we've had to deal with all year.''
Monday, January 27, 2003
Robbins remains hospitalized in San Diego. The Raiders are assisting in Robbins' medical care, although Allen won't be specific as to the nature of that assistance.
Robbins' agent tells the NFL the center will not play in the Pro Bowl.
An unnamed member of Robbins' family says Robbins is under a suicide watch. "We are very worried about Barret. That's all I can say right now," the family member says.
Pittman, who will fly to Hawaii on Tuesday for the Pro Bowl, says Robbins' wife has told him that medical tests found no illegal drugs in Robbins' system. "He's receiving ongoing treatment," Pittman says, adding that "nobody really knows where he was on Saturday because he hasn't told anybody. He hasn't told me where he was." Pittman challenges reports from teammates saying Robbins had been drinking Saturday in Tijuana. "Anybody that places him in Tijuana but doesn't have an eyewitness account is speculating," Pittman says.
A team source says Robbins is suffering from alcohol poisoning after drinking too much Saturday.
Middleton reiterates his displeasure with Robbins on Monday afternoon: "I'm not interested in playing with him again. You can't be on a team that doesn't have trust in you and I've lost trust in him. So I'm not really interested in playing with him any more."
The Raiders fly back to the Bay Area at 4 p.m. PT. They do not formally address the media. Robbins' wife is on the team plane, but is expected to return to San Diego.
Allen declines to address the center's future. The Raiders would face no salary-cap gain or penalty by releasing Robbins. "We're not going to make personnel decisions today,'' Allen said.
A source close to Robbins says Robbins is suffering from disorientation. Robbins is also complaining he does not know where he is. (He is being attended to by local doctors in a San Diego hospital). Doctors have been unable to precisely diagnose Robbins' problem.
Tuesday, January 28, 2003
At least one Raider's comments about Robbins takes a softer tone. "A lot of games he was injured to the point where he was not supposed to play. And he gave it up for the Oakland Raiders and their fans," defensive tackle Sam Adams says. "We all have problems in our personal lives. Unfortunately, his problem occurred on a national stage. It was during a week that the whole world was watching. I'm behind my brother and I love him."
In Hawaii, Raiders there for the Pro Bowl maintain they cannot see Robbins remaining a member of the team into next season.
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