Second Lanark

Suspicion - Part 37

Monday morning I'd called the coach first thing, and now I was standing outside his office door, waiting for him to arrive. Looking down the corridor, I saw him walking briskly towards me, a briefcase clutched in his hand. He was dressed in his normal sports clothes, and I envied him a job where he got to wear comfortable clothes all the time. I wasn't sure what normal journalists wore, but if the hints Coach Burton had given me on the phone were any indication, I might find out soon enough.

He smiled at me, but it was tight, full of stress. He opened the door without a word and rounded his desk.

"How bad is it?" I asked, taking a seat.

He sighed. "It's hard to say yet. Athletics is trying to keep a lid on it until we can figure out who we want to speak to the press. But we know we're going to have to let them run some kind of story with our consent and cooperation. We have to handle the spin." He leaned back in his chair, and I could see the dark rings under his eyes.

"What do you need me to do?" I asked.

"I am cherry picking who I want to speak to Athletics, and they'll select who they want to speak to the press. At this point, you and Faith are my top swim team choices. If I can avoid it, I would rather that none of the boys spoke to Athletics or to the press. Mark is most likely going to be suspended – the sacrificial lamb, but rightfully so. He allowed that night to get out of control and used his influence in completely the wrong way."

I sat in stunned silence. This was really blowing up. "Is it just the swim team?" I asked, thinking about Josh.

"No, it's also the football team. Which, in some ways, is good for us as a team. Football is the more popular sport and automatically has a brighter light on it. There's some question of whether that program will be completely canceled. At this point, we're just looking at suspending Mark. The university might push to have him expelled – it's going to partially depend on the testimony given to the Director of Athletics." He paused. "I might lose my job; I don't know."

"What? Why?" I asked, shocked.

"The university has some doubts about my ability to lead the team and to model strong morals and ethics."

"They think you condoned initiation?" I asked, pushing my hair back off my shoulders. I wish I'd brought an elastic for my hair.

"I didn't stop it and then I didn't immediately report it once I found out," Coach Burton said.

"Oh," I said, letting that sink in. "So you might not be here next year?" I asked.

He frowned. "It's a possibility. At this point, nothing is for sure. I asked you to meet me here so you knew the stakes and also to see if you'd be willing to speak to Athletics with the understanding that you may have to speak to the press. We've had to cancel all our swim meets until this is sorted out. You're close to nationals, so are others, so I want to try to get the team cleared - if we can be cleared - sooner rather than later."

"I'll do whatever needs to be done. I don't want you fired; I don't want the season wasted. I think if Mark is being punished, then the right person is taking the fall," I said, meeting Coach Burton's dark gaze.

"Do you have class today?" he asked, consulting the calendar on his desk.

"At one," I said, sitting forward in the chair.

"The Director of Athletics is free now if you're okay to speak to him," he said, looking up at me.

"Yes," I nodded. "Whatever the team needs."

Coach Burton smiled. "Faith will be here in a couple minutes. I'm hoping she shares your sentiments."

He stood and led me to The Director of Athletic's Office. My stomach dropped as Coach Burton knocked on the door and introduced me. Like most men in athletics at the school, the director had a tall and slightly intimidating build. He thanked Coach Burton and offered me a chair. Once he was seated behind his large desk, he gave me a kind smile. Then, I told him everything I knew.