Living through tragedies gives Turbin perspective

By Brent Stecker

With the experiences that Seahawks running back Robert Turbin has lived through, he never has a problem keeping everything in perspective.

Turbin may only be 23, but he’s been through a lifetime of tragedies and hard situations. His older sister, Trina, died at 21 from multiple sclerosis. An older brother, Lonnie, had a history of drug problems and was shot to death at 35. Another sister, Tiffany, has been afflicted with cerebal palsy since he was born. His mother has battled with drug abuse and has never been a big part of his life.

Seahawks running back Robert Turbin is only 23, but he’s lived through the deaths of a brother and a sister. (AP)

That’s why Turbin, despite having shown flashes of brilliance in his two seasons with the Seahawks, doesn’t dwell on being a second-string player for Seattle.

“I just try to handle great situations and bad situations as best I can. I never get too low or get too high. I try to stay even keel with everything that’s going on,” Turbin said on 710 ESPN Seattle’s “Wyman, Mike and Moore” on Friday. “That’s why I don’t get overly upset about still being the back-up running back and stuff like that. My time will come. It’s all about just having patience and just keeping working. No matter what it is that you’re doing, whether you’re playing ball or something else.”

Even though his family life was full of instability, Turbin did have his father, Ronald, a retired truck mechanic and assistant church pastor, to lean on.

“I’m very proud of the way my father raised me and grown me into the kind of man I am today,” he said. “Everybody’s got their own story, and everybody’s lifestyle is different, and I’m proud of the way I grew up.”
Now, Turbin, who followed his father’s example and went above and beyond to take care of his sisters growing up, is looking out for another family member.

“My little brother, he actually lives with me now. He wanted to play basketball and stuff like that, so he’s playing basketball for the Bellevue junior college team, and I’m just here to support him and help him any way that I can to achieve his goals and dreams, which is to be an NBA basketball player,” Turbin said. “He was in Fresno, Calif., playing basketball out there for a little bit. It wasn’t working out, so I just decided to kinda take him under my wing and try to guide him to how I was able to get here as a professional football player.

“Any way I can help, I will, and that’s for him and anybody else in my family.”