“If, between now and the time we receive your test results back, you decide to quit the team, your results will not be opened. If you take that approach, you’re still finished at Lincoln High, as far as athletics are concerned. However, Lincoln High will keep the document with your result sealed until you either leave or graduate. At that time, the document will be destroyed.
“Are there any questions?” Coach Hope asked.
“If a player participates in a game and is later found to be positive, what’ll happen?” Brad asked.
“We’ll forfeit the game,” Coach told us.
“What if a player quits after the game and their results aren’t known?” Brad asked.
“It doesn’t matter. We will forfeit the game,” Coach said. “We will not job the system. If there’s even a suspicion of steroid use, and someone plays, we’ll do what’s right.”
My opinion of Coach Hope went way up. I was glad to see he wasn’t going to mess around with this. I had one question, and I needed everyone to hear the answer.
“Coach, do we know where the accusation came from? Was it anyone associated with Lincoln High?” I asked.
He looked at me and got it. He shook his head.
“This didn’t come from anyone at Lincoln. Let me repeat that: no one associated with Lincoln High made the accusation,” he said, looking Brad and the ass-hats in the eye.
Brad flinched when his dad’s eyes locked on him. Coach left no doubt we were not involved. With that, the meeting was over. Coach Diamond and Coach Stevens grabbed the JV guys who were in the meeting and pulled us into a room.
“I had to have you guys tested,” Coach Stevens told us.
Wolf and Jim looked pissed. I just nodded, while Mike looked at his shoes.
“I did it to clear your names. You all have the talent to play in college. I suspect if this is pushed to the limit, it’ll be a big news story. You’ll need the test results to help prove you weren’t involved. Even with the test results, this may hurt your recruiting.”
“The entire coaching staff believes none of you are involved. We’ll do everything we can to help you,” Coach Diamond assured us.
We then went to practice. This kind of took the fun out of it.
WHEN I GOT HOME, I told Mom and Dad about the steroid tests. Dad called Tom to get advice. Tom said he’d make some calls to see what we should do.
Wednesday September 3
WORD GOT OUT QUICKLY. Jeff Delahey had waited for me after practice. He was the local sports reporter with whom I had slowly built a relationship. To be honest, I didn’t like him much last fall. In the spring, he started to grow on me. I agreed to talk to him at my house, with my parents and Tom present. We arranged to meet after dinner.
He followed me home, and Dad called Tom. Mom served us dinner, and Jeff joined us. We agreed not to talk about anything controversial until Tom got there. That didn’t mean we didn’t talk football, we did. He wanted to compare notes on who I thought was good this year, and players to look out for. When Tom arrived, we got down to business.
“Jeff, I won’t make any quotes at this time. Everything will be off the record until we see the results of the tests,” I told him.
“Look, this is going to be a big deal. I’m going to take my reporter’s hat off for a moment and give you some advice. Get out in front of this. If you look like you’re on the defensive, you’ll look guilty. I’d also suggest you have me open your test results. I can then definitively say they were negative. If they come back positive, I’ll have to do my job.”
“May I ask what you plan to print?” Tom asked.
“I’ve confirmed that a booster from Eastside made the report to the HSAA. My source spoke to me only upon a guarantee of anonymity. He observed multiple members of Lincoln High’s football team working out at a gym known for steroid use. I don’t have outside verification yet, so we’re sitting on the story for now,” Jeff told us.
“Jeff, can we have a moment?” I asked.
I pulled everyone into the office.
“If he breaks this story before the game on Friday, there are going to be problems,” Mom said.
“We need to see if we can get this delayed till Sunday,” Tom said. “We still have freshman and JV games on Saturday.”
“I have the proof he needs. Wolf and I saw the steroids,” I said.
“You all stay here. Let me talk to him for a moment,” Tom said.
We waited almost an hour. I was surprised when Coach Hope showed up and joined us. He came up to me and looked me in the eye.
“David, I need to know. Do you have proof that any of my players are taking steroids?” he asked me.
“Have I seen any of them take them? No.”
“But ...?” he asked.
“I saw a bottle of steroid pills in one of the seniors’ duffle bags.”
“Thank you. Coach Stevens told me he’d recognized the signs of use in several of the players. He was a lineman in college, after all. We couldn’t do anything based on what he told us, because we had no proof. The coaching staff talked about simply benching whomever we suspected of using and having the JV play varsity on Friday. But Moose pointed out that to solve a short-term problem we’d be creating a bigger problem for you and the other JV players. We want to keep you as far away from this mess for as long as possible.”
Tom came back in.
“Jeff has agreed to hold off on the story until Sunday. David, he wants to talk to you off the record. In the meantime, I’ll put together an official statement for you. Once your parents and Coach approve it, we’ll give it to Jeff.”
We all agreed, and everyone went out to listen to me talk to Jeff. I told him what Wolf and I had seen. I told him what Wolf told us about his cousin’s use. I then revealed what had happened at our meeting at Monical’s, and the decision to play JV ball. Coach Hope blanched when he heard that. I finally told Jeff about the model I ran into at the gladiator shoot. He told me the varsity was lifting there and offered to help me with steroids. There was no direct confirmation, but the implication was made.
“David, I’ll deny this if you ever repeat it. I think you’re a rare talent. I could have just run with this, but I’ve come to like and respect you. That’s rare in my business. This is a one-time deal. If I suspect you’re doing anything like this in the future, I’ll just run it. But I don’t want to see someone else pull you down for something you’re not involved in,” Jeff told me.
I shook his hand.
“Jeff, if I ever do something like this, I’ll give you the exclusive,” I said with a smirk.
Mom whacked me on the back of the head and called me a ‘stupid boy!’
Friday September 5
THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE, we heard that Brad and the rest of the juniors and seniors had gotten together and decided to play tonight. Their rationale was they wanted to play at least one game. Coach Hope was not happy about any of this.
Of course, our fantasy of news not leaking before Sunday was just that, a fantasy. Jeff called Coach Hope and said they couldn’t sit on the story, because too many sources had come forward. On Thursday, the story ran in the local paper. When I pulled up in the parking lot Friday, the press was all over Lincoln High. They saw me as I walked up to the front of the school.
The local TV station reporter got me to stop. Hey, she’s cute ...
“Can you tell us if steroid use is rampant at Lincoln High?” she asked.
They love to throw firebombs, and step back and watch you burn. This was the exact situation Jeff had warned us about. Being defensive now would look like guilt.
“All I can talk about is myself. On Monday, the High School Athletic Association came in and tested me. They tell me the results will be available this coming Monday. If God’s willing, I’ll be playing football in college. I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize my opportunity to play, and I’m sure the test will show I’m drug-free.