Stephen Colbert practices his tackling form on a robot

Stephen Colbert’s distrust of robots was a recurring topic on his previous show, The Colbert Report, and the host has carried that animus over to his new job at The Late Show.

Stephen Colbert’s distrust of robots was a recurring topic on his previous show, The Colbert Report, and the host has carried that animus over to his new job at The Late Show.

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Colbert spoke with Dartmouth football coach Buddy Teevans, who has replaced all player-on-player practice tackling with the M.V.P., or Mobile Virtual Player, a moving tackling dummy, which has lowered team injuries by 80%.

The team developed the robot with the school’s engineering department, and while it is currently the only team using the device, several other college and pro teams have expressed interest in the program.

The host concedes the dummy is “huggably plush” but he still lines up and uses his single day of football experience to take out his cybernetic opponent.