Senior Year Box Set

Tim and Wolf shared their conversations with the coaches who sat at their tables. It sounded like the coaches had done an excellent job explaining how the two of them would fit in and make significant contributions to the team.

◊◊◊

Tracy, Tami, and Pam all made a point to thank me for inviting them. They understood I couldn’t do this for future in-home visits. They now understood what happened at them and felt more plugged-in.

Brook rode home with my parents and me. She wanted to hear what I had to say to the coaches.

Everyone met at my house. Mary had sent home cinnamon rolls, and Mom made coffee. I didn’t want to share, but Mom gave me a look. I figured it was probably better in the long run because that many cinnamon rolls surely had about ten million calories. If I ate them all, Halle would be pointing at my butt.

“Oh my! They sell these at your place?” Coach Mason asked.

“Take David when you go; he has a talent for getting them for free,” Dad said.

“I’m sure it has nothing to do with him owning the place,” Brook observed.

“This was before he owned it. If you haven’t noticed, he can be handy to have around,” Dad added.

“Like Greg isn’t? He always gets us free appetizers at Monical’s,” I said to defend myself.

“What does Phil get you?” Brook asked.

“He gets Cassidy off our back.”

“I think that’s better than food,” Brook said with a grin.

“You sure you want to go there?” Mom asked.

That brought Brook up short. She hadn’t yet realized that my mom would talk about anything in front of anyone.

“Why did you want everyone to come over?” Brook asked to change the topic.

“Rob and I have been talking since I received a visit from a representative from Southwest Central State,” Mom said, taking the lead.

“He showed up at her work to try to convince her to have David make a visit to their campus,” Dad said. “She felt that it was implied they would make it worth her while to arrange it. This was the first time we’ve been approached by someone who seemed to be offering him cash to play.”

“We talked to Bo Harrington, who is both a friend and mentor of David’s. He’s also a coach at Alabama. We sought him out for advice, and he shared the economics of big-time football and the impact someone like David could have on a program,” Mom said.

“I was worried this might happen,” Mr. Morris stepped in. “College athletics is a business that has found a way to simply offer free room, board, and an education to their workforce in lieu of paying them a salary. There have been rumors for years that under-the-table money has been paid to top prospects like David.

“In some ways, it reminds me of prohibition. Despite the law, people found a way to drink. I suspect there’s an underground economy at work to compensate players for picking a particular program to play ball. The NCAA is at a severe disadvantage. They don’t have subpoena power to compel anyone to testify, so if no one talks, there’s nothing they can do.

“If I were a college and wanted to cheat, I would make sure it couldn’t be traced back to me. I’d have a third-party step in and make the payment,” Mr. Morris said.

“Shoe companies,” I guessed.

“Think about the money they’re pouring into colleges to wear their gear. They use the colleges to groom top athletes so that when they graduate, they swoop in with endorsement deals,” Mr. Morris said.

“David, you need to be very careful to not say anything negative about shoe companies. I’ve seen where schools have pulled offers, and I would bet it was because a shoe company put the word out. I was surprised that you visited Wisconsin. They’re an Under Armour school,” Coach Styles said.

Bo had warned me about the power of the shoe companies. Still, I was staggered that Coach Styles would say something. He went up another notch in my estimation.

“I wonder why they would even approach you. If they’d done their homework, they would realize that David isn’t going to be swayed by money or even women,” Coach Hope said.

“Hey,” Brook warned.

“I meant that he already had the perfect woman at home,” Coach Hope said to make the save. “If it were me, I would make the offer to Wolf and Tim.”

We all looked at him thoughtfully.

“I’ll find out,” Dad offered.

“What should we do?” I asked.

“Let me ponder it. My concern is that if money doesn’t work, they’ll try other approaches that might not be as pleasant,” Mr. Morris said.

◊◊◊

After the coaches left, Brook joined my parents and me to figure out what else we should do.

“I’d talk to your security people. That last statement makes me wonder what they might pull,” Brook suggested.

“Great minds think alike. I’ll call Fritz and get him up to speed,” I said.

Mom didn’t seem too happy, but Dad gave her a look, and she nodded.

◊◊◊ Tuesday September 13

Today was Tracy’s birthday. Her mom had told me that she didn’t want a party this year, she just wanted to have dinner with her parents. Of course, I wasn’t having that. If I had to pick a best friend, she just might be it.