Robinson Joins Fairley as Football Coach and Athletic Director
Green Dot Public Schools is excited to welcome the new head football coach and Athletic Director at Fairley High School: Gene Robinson III.
Robinson is an alumnus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he played safety on their football team. He was also a football standout at his alma mater, Whitehaven High School (’09), giving Robinson a close understanding of Fairley’s significance in southeast Memphis, as he now trades his rivalry to rebuild the football program.
After college, Robinson returned to Memphis in 2014 as head coach of Riverview Middle School’s football team, where he led them to become the Small Area 2B Football Division Champions after finishing 6-0 in 2015. The success of their football team served as a catalyst to unite with nearby Southside Middle School, which had become a recent casualty of school closure.
Robinson simultaneously served as the defensive back coach for Whitehaven’s varsity football team from 2014 through 2016. During his three years serving Whitehaven, Robinson coached seven defensive backs into full-ride athletic scholarships, four of which were Division I signees. Two Division I signees, Dunta Vaughn (Notre Dame) and Rodney Saulsberry (Austin Peay), went on to become true freshmen as they lettered their first year on campus.
During the summer, Robinson works with NFL players from Memphis to host the Annual Make the Right Call Football Camp. This free camp, now in its fifth year, serves more than 300 inner city youth in Memphis. At the camp, 10 of the top high school players are awarded a free ACT Prep course. “Football can be a way out for student athletes, providing them opportunities they would not have had without it,” said Robinson. “Instead of depending on streets and gangs or minimum wage jobs, these players have the opportunity to become teachers, businessmen, and lawyers. Who knows what they are able to do once they obtain that free degree.”