Rumeal James Robinson (born November 13, 1966) is a Jamaican-American former professional basketball player.
Growing up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Robinson graduated from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School and went on to play point guard for the University of Michigan. After a strong showing in Michigan's 1989 NCAA championship, Robinson was drafted #10 in the first round of the 1990 NBA draft. He played professionally until 2002, then started a criminal career that ended with him being sentenced to prison in 2011 on multiple convictions for bank bribery and wire fraud.
Early life
Robinson was born in Mandeville, Jamaica, in the west-central portion of the island. His mother moved to the Boston area while he was a toddler, leaving him in his grandparents' care. Shortly after he turned 10 years old, his grandparents sent him to the United States in hopes of reuniting him with his mother. However, his mother made it clear that she didn't want him, and he was reduced to sleeping in apartment halls and Harvard College dorm stairways.
Early in the 1977–78 school year, he was taken in by Helen and Lou Ford, a respected local couple. They adopted him in 1978. He blossomed into a star guard at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, leading them to a state championship in 1986. His mother persuaded the city of Cambridge to name her street "Rumeal Robinson Way" in his honor. He also played for the New Jersey Nets, Charlotte Hornets, Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers. Robinson also spent time in the Continental Basketball Association. He played in the Euroleague during the 2001–02 season for KK Zadar.
In the NBA, Robinson's play was very inconsistent. His last season as a regular player was 1992–93, his first year in New Jersey; after that year, he never played in more than 54 games a season.
He was one of three Robinsons that the Portland Trail Blazers had in their line-up for the 1995–96 NBA season. The others were Clifford Robinson and James Robinson (both no relation).
Robinson made some $5 million in the NBA, but spent it on a lavish lifestyle. He went through money so irresponsibly, he neglected to pay his bills. He was forced into bankruptcy in 1998.
Over the next year and a half, Robinson received $1.2 million in loans from Community State Bank, all approved by Williams. However, he never paid the bank back a single penny, and barely five percent of the money went toward developing Harmony Cove. The rest of it was used to buy expensive clothes, meals, motorcycles, jewelry, and other accoutrements of the high life. On January 7, 2011, federal judge Ronald E. Longstaff sentenced Robinson to 6 years (78 months) in prison. He was also ordered to pay $1,184,615 in restitution to Community State Bank and St. Paul Mercury Insurance. Robinson appealed his sentence in September 2011, claiming judge Longstaff had denied him a chance to change lawyers and had improperly taken his allocution statement into account at sentencing. A panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the arguments and upheld the sentence in December.
In March, 2012, a federal judge ruled that US$369,000 of Robinson's pension fund could be seized to help cover restitution owed to cover his fraudulent business deals.