Duncan Robinson admits Charlotte vs. Detroit fight made him look bad: "It didn't look like I was down for the cause"

While today’s Detroit Pistons aren’t the highly physical and bruising Bad Boys of the 1980s, they aren’t pushovers either. With a roster populated by no-nonsense players like Cade Cunningham, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, the Pistons have established themselves as a tough, scrappy team that isn’t afraid to mix it up with anyone.

This was evident in the literal fight they showed against the Charlotte Hornets during their heated clash last February 10. With emotions high as the red-hot Hornets tried to prove their mettle against the beasts of the East, tensions boiled over, resulting in a full-scale brawl that involved Duren and Stewart and the Hornets’ Moussa Diabate and Miles Bridges.

However, as the brawl was in full swing, wingman Duncan Robinson didn’t make his presence felt. In fact, footage from the incident showed him casually turning his back to the chaos and walking away. While it’s one thing to keep your cool amidst the hostilities, it’s another to seemingly not have your teammates’ backs.

The eight-year pro recently appeared on “The Young Man and the Three” podcast and addressed the criticism he received for his lack of involvement in the brawl.

Tried to stay true to himself

The 6’7″ perimeter specialist explained that, as much of a competitor as he is, he has never been one to engage in physical altercations on the court. And as he saw Beef Stew take on Bridges, he felt that there was nothing he could do to mitigate the situation. Unfortunately, it didn’t look good for him; he looked like, for lack of a better term, a bad teammate.

“That was one of the things that bothered me the most about the Charlotte incident is that it looked — and I could see how there could be a narrative outwardly of like, ‘Oh, I left my guy hanging,’ or ‘I didn’t care about Stu,’ or whatever,” Duncan stated.

“I do think Stew and my teammates know that I ride for them. Obviously, it’s going to be a little different than how Stew rides for his teammates. I’m also going to be authentically me, right?” he continued. “And in that moment, I got captured — it looked bad. It did, to be honest. It didn’t look like I was down for the cause.”

Wishes he could have stopped Stewart from going after Bridges

While Robinson wasn’t much of a fighter during that incident, he has proven to be an integral piece of the Pistons’ puzzle this season. He has started 63 games and has averaged 12.0 points per game, making 40.1 percent from beyond the arc. While his numbers do not pop out, the threat of his efficient perimeter shooting has opened up the floor for his teammates.

Looking back on that melee, Robinson wishes that he could have done something to keep his teammates from getting multi-game suspensions; he wouldn’t have thrown any punches at the Hornets’ players, but he could have stepped in to calm things down.

“The one aspect of it that I do have regret over — and I couldn’t have stopped it — but you know, I hate not seeing him on the court,” he stated. “So if I could have done something to stop him from getting to Miles — but he had obviously made up his mind and there was nothing I was going to do in that moment.”

As for the optics of the situation, Robinson has pledged not to let that happen again.

“I learned my lesson. Next time, I’m going to grab someone, at least make it kind of get in the middle,” Duncan asserted.

Outside of his scorching shooting ability, Robinson is a pretty chill guy. But when it comes down to defending his teammates, he’s learning to do whatever it takes to help keep them away from trouble.

This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Mar 13, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Duncan Robinson admits Charlotte vs. Detroit fight made him look bad: “It didn’t look like I was down for the cause”

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