TMZ Wrongly Reports Ex-Temple Football Star Adrian Robinson Shot and Killed in Harrisburg

On Monday, we heard that ex-Temple football player Adrian Robinson had died over the weekend, but no cause of death had been reported. Then TMZ stepped up to the plate with a report that Robinson, who most recently played for the Washington Redskins, had been shot and killed in Harrisburg.

So we got on the phone with the Harrisburg Police Department and spoke with a supervisor who was perplexed by our inquiry. He assured us that no one named Adrian Robinson had been killed in Harrisburg in recent memory. We wondered if maybe he just didn’t get the memo.

Nope.

Turns out that Adrian Robinson wasn’t shot to death. According to the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s office, Robinson hanged himself. And the office confirmed that the place of death was Philadelphia — not Harrisburg.

But other than that, TMZ’s report was perfectly accurate. The site issued a mea culpa, explaining that some unnamed representative of the Harrisburg Police Department told TMZ in an email that Robinson had been killed in a shooting.

Robinson was born in Harrisburg and was 25 years old at the time of his death. He was a star linebacker at Temple University and was briefly a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. He also had short stints with Pittsburgh (2012) and with Denver, San Diego and Tampa Bay (all in 2013).

Temple’s athletic director released the following statement:

“The entire Temple University community is mourning the tragic passing of one of our former all-time great football players, Adrian Robinson. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this incredibly tough time.”

And this from Temple Football head coach Matt Rhule:

#TUFB lost a friend, a brother, and wonderful young man today. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Robinson family. pic.twitter.com/9U0XpJf5Qn

— Temple Football (@Temple_FB) May 18, 2015

Follow @VictorFiorillo on Twitter.

For confidential support if you are having thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Learn about the warning signs of suicide at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.