Take a Look At Yourself

We all sat around the locker room, trying to figure out how to put out all these fires. For me, a lot of them seemed really easy to quell. It was Zacky's and mine that worried me. So much of me needed to know how they had figured out anything about me. Only three people should know what went on, and I was concerned what this reporter knew.

"Coach, what are we going to do?" Mike asked, folding his arms across his chest. "Are we really going to let this get out? It will destroy our chance at any kind of play off games."

Coach sighed. "That's why I called you all in. I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy. Now as smarmy and gossipy as this piece is, the editor has assured me everything was corroborated. They have proof and pictures to go along with everything. Harrison, they don't want to tell me what yours is about."

"It's nothing I want released." I shook my head. "And why is the editor giving us the option to read this beforehand?"

"He's not sure he's ready for his newspaper to go down a dirty road. He said if we can give valid reasons that these stories aren't going to destroy the team, he won't publish the article. He doesn't want to hurt our team."

"Well, he should have thought about that before greenlighting this article," Matt said, "Well, I can tell you why mine isn't a scandal. I think we should record all of our responses."

Coach Peterson nodded his head and took out his phone. "Why don't you start then, Sanders?"

"I don't know why an academic scholarship would even rank as a scandal. It could be because I kept it hidden for the last four years. I'm surrounded by jocks who are here for football, and I was a guy that walked on the team because my family wouldn't let me not play.

"I knew the only way I could go to college was if I had a scholarship. I applied to a bunch of schools just in the hopes that one would give me a full ride. My grades were good enough to get me a great scholarship, a couple of them. And keeping with the Sanders tradition, I joined a team. I never thought I would take away from someone else's option for school. But academics are what college is for. I don't see a scandal there," Matt said and crossed his arms.

"Anyone else?"

"I don't see how mine is much of a scandal either." Mike looked at me. "That broke when the original story with Harrison came out. And look, Harrison, I have to apologize for that. I thought they would just suspend you from a couple of games, not put you on this team. Mistakes were made, and after seeing that touchdown, I'm glad you're with us."

Johnny sighed. "I can understand how mine is a little more frustrating, Coach. I talked to my professors yesterday. I can show you the emails, but my grades were in good standing yesterday. Maybe the article was written before that. But even if it was, teachers aren't supposed to talk about students grades with anyone. That is... illegal. And quite frankly, that should kill the entire article."

Peterson nodded. "The editor thought that might happen and as one without your story ready for release. Keep going."

Brian narrowed his eyes. "I will admit that I used to have a bit of a drinking problem in high school and my early days on the team. I was dealing with some family issues that just ate away at me. That's completely my fault for allowing situations that were out of my control to make me go out of control. But I haven't touched more than a beer since I was a freshman. You can ask around too, Coach."

Zach finally exploded. "Being gay isn't a fucking scandal! It's 2018 for fuck's sake! Do you know how many gay celebrities and athletes they are? We had a gay Olympian! If I can't be who I am and play the sport I love and am good at, what's the point? I never hid who I was. Matt, Johnny, Jimmy, and Brian all knew. Mike, Peter, and Mark all knew. WHY THE FUCK SHOULD ANYONE ELSE CARE?"

We all stared at the short man. Zach so rarely got angry, and it was actually kind of scary. I think a lot of us just never expected it. Peterson threw the paper on the ground and pulled his running back into a huge hug.

"I'm sorry, Zach. None of this article will get out. The newspaper is trying to play games with my players, and Harrison is right. It's my job as your coach to protect you. And Harrison, I don't even want to hear your explanation. It could only be more scathing than Baker's."

Notes

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