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Threat made against President Obama’s niece, a Princeton player

Barack Obama,

AP Photo

AP

College Park police had to ramp up security for Monday night’s game between Maryland and Princeton in the women’s NCAA tournament due to a threat made against President Obama’s niece.

Leslie Robinson is a freshman on the Princeton women’s basketball team. Her father is Craig Robinson, a former Princeton player and Oregon State head coach who is brother of First Lady Michelle Obama. According to the AP, a message threatening Leslie was left at Maryland on Monday.

President Obama attended Princeton’s game on Saturday, but he was not in attendance on Monday, a game the Lady Tigers lost 85-70 to fall to 31-1 on the year.

“It’s incredibly disappointing that the first question we get (after) being 31-1 (and) in the NCAA Tournament is about a freak,” Princeton coach Courtney Banghart said, adding that Leslie was unaware of the threats. Leslie did not play in either Princeton tournament game.

“College Park police, I’m sure, had that under control. Leslie is safe. She’s in my locker room. No one loves her like I do. She’s an important part of our team,” Banghart added. “Keep the freaks out of our gym.”

According to police, they received a call at around 3 p.m. ET reporting that the caller had gotten a text from a third party indicating that a male that she knew had a gun and mentioned Robinson. The Secret Service was notified and extra security was added as a precaution, police said.