Packers' Robinson doesn't plan to slip

GREEN BAY, WIS. -- Koren Robinson said he's a changed man, clean and sober, and living the family life that was "intended by God." And for that, the veteran receiver thanked the hated archrival he's about to face for the first time as a member of the Green Bay Packers.

"Thank you, Minnesota Vikings," said Robinson, looking sincerely into the television cameras positioned in front of his locker inside Lambeau Field on Wednesday afternoon. "Thank you, Coach [Brad] Childress."

Reporters laughed. Robinson, the ex-Viking who was released by the team on Aug. 26, 2006, didn't.

"Y'all are laughing, but I'm very serious," Robinson said. "The way I look at it, if I was with the Minnesota Vikings, I don't know if I would have really gotten over the hump as far as getting to the place or being the person God wants me to be. So I'm very serious when I say I'm thankful to them. I'm blessed that it happened."

Robinson has had one of the toughest stretches a player can have off the field. Multiple violations of the NFL's substance-abuse policy and alcohol-related driving arrests cost him a four-game suspension in 2004, his jobs in Seattle and Minnesota, and a one-year suspension that was lifted just last month.

Robinson understands that another violation could result in a lifetime ban. In fact, he said he should be banned for life if he has another relapse. That, he said, is how confident he is that it won't happen.

"I've moved on with my life," Robinson said. "But at the same time, I keep what happened to me fresh in my mind so that hopefully -- no, not hopefully -- I know I won't go back there."

Robinson was reminded he said essentially the same thing when the Vikings took a chance on him before the 2005 season. The Seahawks had released him after a drunken-driving charge. And while Robinson went on to earn his first Pro Bowl berth as a Viking in 2005, he essentially threw it and a new long-term contract away on Aug. 15, 2006.

That's when he led police on a chase at speeds up to 120 miles per hour down Highway 169 as he tried to make Childress' 11 p.m. training camp curfew in Mankato. Robinson's blood-alcohol content was .11, above the legal limit.

"It doesn't matter how people perceive me because I know what I've been through, and where I am now," Robinson said. "Before, I kind of feel like I put one over on people. I told people whatever I needed just to get them off my back. But now it's different, and I don't care how everybody else views me. I know my teammates, they love me. And I'm being honest with them, my coaches, this organization, my family, my kids, my friends. That's all that matters to me."

Robinson said the first time he drank alcohol as a member of the Vikings was the night he was arrested in Mankato. He eventually agreed to be sentenced on a felony charge of fleeing police in return for seven other charges being dropped. He served parts of a 90-day jail sentence in three different prisons.

"The night it happened," said Robinson, "I thought my career was over. Definitely. ... I can't blame the Vikings for releasing me. Look at my track record. I probably would have made the same decision."

Robinson signed a two-year deal with the Packers before last season, but played only four games before he was suspended. In his first game back, he caught three passes for 18 yards and returned three kickoffs for 60 yards in a 33-22 victory at Kansas City on Sunday. This Sunday, his 7-1 Packers plays Childress and his 3-5 Vikings at Lambeau Field.

While Robinson and Childress haven't kept in touch the past 15 months, Childress gets updates on Robinson's progress from Vikings receiver Robert Ferguson, who often text messages Robinson.

"I just wish him the best," Childress said, "and hope everything is behind him."

Mark Craig • mcraig@startribune.com