The Untold Truth Of Michelle Obama's Brother Craig

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While Craig Robinson might be a lesser-known member of the Obama clan, he has played a pivotal role in the life of his sister, former first lady Michelle Obama (who was born Michelle Robinson). "You have been my protector since the day I was born," she wrote to her brother in her memoir, "Becoming." "You have made me laugh more than any other person on this earth. You are the best brother a sister could ask for, a loving and caring son, husband, and father."

Robinson and his sister are so close that, without his seal of approval, the Obamas might not even have gotten married. He's not just the sibling of one of the most famous and influential women in the world, though. Robinson is also a gifted athlete with an Ivy League education whose resume would be impressive even if it weren't for his famous sister and brother-in-law. So who exactly is this man who plays such a big part in Michelle Obama's life? Let's get to know more about her brother, Craig Robinson.

Marian Robinson is close to both of her children, but she has a special bond with her little boy. Both of the siblings admit that Craig Robinson is their mother's favorite, although Michelle Obama doesn't seem to be hurt by that fact and is able to laugh about it. Even when she was the first lady, she said her mom still played favorites. "I am the First Lady but my mother is like, 'When is Craig coming?,'" Obama told "Good Morning America." "I'm like, 'I live in the White House. What more do I have to do?'"

Marian moved into the White House during the Obama presidency and helped look after her granddaughters, Malia and Sasha, but she did so at Robinson's urging. He explained that she doesn't like to be "intrusive" and was reluctant to move into the presidential residence, until he sweetened the deal. "I just sort of positioned it like, you will helping your granddaughters out, number one, and if you move into the White House, then I'll come to visit you more," he said.

Michelle Obama launched the Let's Move! campaign while she was first lady to help America's kids be more active and live healthy lifestyles. Athleticism is something that runs in the Robinson family; sports were important to the Robinsons as kids and was a big part of their childhood. "We used to play everything, and it started with playing catch in the house," Craig Robinson said at an Aspen Institute forum on youth sports (via The Washington Post).

Pursuing his love for sports, Robinson became one of the best basketball players in Ivy League history. Robinson scored 1,441 points during his college career, and was named Ivy League Player of the Year two years in a row. He was also selected twice for First Team All-Ivy, and earned three Ivy League titles. As if that wasn't impressive enough, Robinson went on to be selected in the fourth round of the NBA draft, although he never ended up playing in the professional league.

After earning his degree in sociology, Craig Robinson played professional basketball in the U.K. for the Manchester Giants, but he wasn't stopping there. After retiring from pro ball, he earned a master's degree in business administration and embarked on a career in banking, becoming a vice president at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter.

Banking earned Robinson a lot of money, but he felt unfulfilled in his job. His true passion was in basketball, and he left banking in order to accept a position as an assistant basketball coach at Northwestern University for a fraction of the salary. "I was coaching part-time in youth leagues and high schools," Michelle Obama's brother told Inc. "My business success, albeit good — in fact, maybe even grand by some measures — wasn't bringing me the kind of pleasure and joy that I felt when I was coaching."

After Northwestern, Robinson would go on to coach at two more colleges, Oregon State and Brown University.

In 2017, Craig Robinson was hired by the New York Knicks where he serves as vice president of player development. The position is far more than just a job to him. "This was an opportunity to work on the biggest stage there is in this industry, and with such a historically relevant organization like the Knicks, and with a tough task," he told The Undefeated.

Robinson is especially excited for the opportunity to mentor young players. "The best part about it for me is that it happens both on and off the court," he said. "I think you need to have both if you're trying to really help players develop. ...The on-the-court stuff is extremely important to these guys. When they realize that it's as important to you as it is to them, that's when you can have an impact on their off-the-court lives. They start to trust you and have a relationship with you. That's when they start listening."

Michelle Obama blew up the charts late in 2018 with the release of her memoir, "Becoming," which was an instant bestseller. She's not the only member of her family to have some serious writing chops, though. You probably know that her husband has a few books under his belt, but her brother has also written a memoir of his own. "A Game of Character: A Family Journey from Chicago's Southside to the Ivy League and Beyond" was published in 2010 and discusses growing up in the Robinson household and the later success of Craig Robinson and his sister. Another member of the family shared their gift for storytelling in his memoir; the foreword was written by none other than their mother, Marian Robinson.

Family is at the center of Robinson's book. The memoir was written in memory of his father, Fraser Robinson III, who died in 1991. Robinson also dedicated the book to his family, who he calls "my life, my everything."

Craig Robinson has a long list of talents and, aside from being a writer, athlete, and financial whiz, is also an entrepreneur. He is one of the founders of Loop Capital, a minority-owned investment bank, brokerage, and advisory firm that operates globally.

In an interview with Inc., Robinson gave advice to African-Americans and other minorities looking to start their own businesses. "We're still in a time when being African-American can be viewed as a hindrance, especially in the business world," he said. "I've always found that you have to work a little bit harder to prove yourself when you're African-American. There's nothing wrong with that. You just have to be prepared for it."

He reminded prospective entrepreneurs that they will have to conduct business with people from all sorts of backgrounds, which could pose a challenge. "Your customers aren't going to be all African-Americans or people of color," Michelle Obama's brother said. "Many of your customers aren't going to give you the benefit of the doubt."

Craig Robinson has been married twice. His first marriage was to Janis Robinson, with whom he has two children, Avery and Leslie, as noted by The U.S. Sun. While Janis seems to live life out of the spotlight, we know that Avery and Leslie are close to their aunt Michelle Obama, as they were spotted in a behind-the-scenes photo the White House released of Barack Obama's presidential inauguration in 2013. 

In a 2017 appearance on "In Depth With Graham Bensinger," Robinson opened up about his divorce from Janis, which left him in a difficult financial position as they split up at the same time he was leaving his career in finance for one in coaching, and thus taking a pay cut. On top of that, he was paying child support and moved in with his mother. Robinson took the opportunity to reflect on what mattered to him, saying, "It sounds like more of a struggle than it was. ... It was actually a good time to reassess what's important in your life. And, you know, if money was that important, I would have still been working in investment banking."

Robinson eventually gained custody of his children in the tense divorce proceedings.

Craig Robinson may not be an attorney like his famous sister, but he's no less committed to fighting for justice. It was this commitment to truth and decency that led him and his wife, Kelly Robinson, to sue the University School of Milwaukee, in 2022. Robinson told "Good Morning America" that his children were expelled in 2021, allegedly in retaliation after he brought up concerns about racism at the institution. "We want to hold University School of Milwaukee accountable not just to our two children who they retaliated against, but more importantly, there's a whole community of people who are out there that we wouldn't feel right if this happened moving forward," he said.

In an interview with CNN, Robinson explained that he and his wife were troubled by a "repeated use of racial and ethnic stereotypes that were in actual assignments" and brought their concerns to the school, which they say led to their kids being kicked out. The school, however, insists that they were acting not out of retaliation but in reaction to the "persistently disrespectful, bullying, or harassing behavior directed at our devoted and hardworking teachers and administrators," as they wrote in a statement posted on their website. 

In an open letter posted on a website dedicated to raising awareness about the lawsuit, the Robinsons said that they plan to donate any money from the lawsuit "toward initiatives designed to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in schools."