President Obama’s Niece Leslie Robinson Threatened Prior To Princeton And Maryland Matchup

Photo © Mitchell Layton/Getty Images.

Yesterday, the undefeated Princeton Tigers took on the Maryland Terrapins in the Women’s NCAA tournament. Besides going undefeated in the 2014-15 season, the Tigers gained national attention when it was revealed that Barack Obama’s neice played for the team.

Leslie Robinson, daughter of Micelle Obama’s brother, is a freshman that barely sees time on the highly competitive team, but that did not stop the commander-in-chief from coming to Saturday’s opening round matchup between the Tigers and Wisconsin-Green Bay.

Now, prior to yesterday’s game at Maryland, Terrapins’ police officials received an eight-minute voicemail claiming that “a man was driving on campus with a Glock handgun in his possession,” according to USA Today. This call, prank or not, was linked to the NCAA tournament matchup: specifically to Leslie Robinson.

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!

A week of sports news in your in-box.
We find the sports news you need to know, so you don't have to.

As a result, Maryland took the threat extremely serious, adding extra security to the Xfinity Center. On top of this, undercover officers were placed near the Princeton bench. Coincidentally, the secret service also attended the game because of the presence of Supreme Court justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, both Princeton alums.

In the end, the eighth-seeded Princeton lost to Maryland 85-70. As for Robinson, Princeton head coach Courtney Banghart knew about the potential threat, but sheltered Leslie from the distraction.