Yahoo Sports Police identify man believed to have sent racist letter to Kevin Sumlin in 2017
More than a year after a racist, threatening letter was sent to the home of Kevin Sumlin, police believe they have identified the culprit.
According to the Houston Chronicle, police in two Texas counties believe Robin Chiswell, a Houston man arrested in November on a stalking charge, is responsible for sending a horrific letter to the Sumlin home in September 2017 after Texas A&M’s 45-44 loss to UCLA. Sumlin, who was fired as A&M head coach after the 2017 season, is now the head coach at Arizona.
The letter, which used a racial slur and told Sumlin to “get lost or else,” was posted to Twitter by Sumlin’s wife, Charlene, prompting an investigation from local law enforcement. Chiswell, 60, was identified as the alleged culprit as he was investigated for sending threatening letters for “over 30 years” to Carolyn Farb, a noted Houston philanthropist. Chiswell has been charged with felony stalking as a result.
After his arrest, Chiswell was connected to the Sumlin letter. From the Houston Chronicle:
Authorities arrested Chiswell in November. At his home, they found several pieces of evidence including stationery similar to some that was sent to Farb. Detectives also learned that Chiswell had sent a harassing letter to former Texas A&M University coach Kevin Sumlin in 2017, authorities said.
Sumlin, following A&M’s next game, addressed the incident and said his family did not feel safe.
“I’ve done this a long time. And I get lots of mail. I get a lot of it at the office — I get both positive and negative. I get criticism which that’s part of the job,” Sumlin said Sept. 9, 2017. “I think in this situation, for that to come to my home and for her to open it and read it, that’s completely different.
“My wife and kids have never called a play. My wife and kids have never done anything football-wise that led to us losing a game or winning a game. And so once you — it comes to my business, it’s fine. But the racial piece of that is one part of it but the open-ended threat at my house, I’ve got to draw the line there. So she didn’t like it, she didn’t feel safe about it. My kids didn’t feel safe about it.”
The letter had a return address of the Houston Country Club. Per the Chronicle, Chiswell once worked at the Houston Country Club. No charges have been filed in relation to the Sumlin letter.
Chiswell is currently being held on $250,000 bond.
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