Dick slid back into the chair, face falling as he fidgeted with his shirt collar.
The commissioner lifted a hip and sat on the edge of Dick’s desk. “Mrs. Lopez, please continue.”
“During that meeting, the third person was an assistant trainer named Devon Taylor. Devon was concerned he might lose his job because of an accident he caused in the weight room that re-injured Brody’s shoulder.”
“Is this the supposed separation?” Mr. Brennan looked to Brody.
“Yes, sir.”
He turned back to Mariana, and she continued. “Devon was aware of Brody’s romantic relationship with Ms. Costello. He claimed Brody told him, though Brody says he never told Devon such a thing, but that’s neither here nor there. He took the information about the relationship to Dr. Chase and Richard, afraid he’d lose his job for causing Brody’s accident.
“After the fantasy suite scandal broke, Brody was tasked to stay out of the media and away from women completely. It wasn’t a secret to anyone in the organization. Then his dog bit the pet sitter, who filed a lawsuit.” She shifted in her chair, recrossing her legs.
“After being warned about the dog and the scandal, Brody’s decision to have a sexual relationship with Ms. Costello would become his third strike, as a violation of the conduct clause, when it became public knowledge.”
She glanced back at me then turned back to the commissioner. “I was brought into the meeting in Dr. Chase’s office for two reasons.
“Years ago, the Chase family tasked me to hide Dr. Chase’s indiscretions and questionable behavior when Ms. Costello broke off her engagement with Dr. Chase. In fact, I did it so well, I was offered this job as a result. Dr. Chase’s father is not only a sitting senator, but one of Richard’s golfing buddies.
“The second reason I was called to the meeting was to control the flow of information when evidence of Brody and Lily’s relationship was leaked. I was also tasked with finding an investigator to collect evidence of the relationship. You should know that Brody wasn’t aware of Ms. Costello’s connection with Dr. Chase until I told him yesterday.
“Dick...uh, Richard,” Mariana continued, “wanted to force Brody into a trade, and the conduct clause was how he planned to do it.”
The commissioner’s brow furrowed. “It’s shady, but not a policy issue, Mr. Shaw. You broke the rules you were tasked with and agreed to. You had the relationship anyway, and you got caught. You told me this was about player health, not your love life.”
Dick had been relatively quiet up until that point. “See? This is superfluous and I’m so sorry these people have wasted your time, Commissioner. I—”
Brody tensed. “I regret having to thrust my relationship with Lily into the light, but it does have bearing on player health, sir.”
Mariana spoke up. “Mr. Brennan, if I may, I can connect the pieces.”
He tipped his head. “Please, Mrs. Lopez.”
“During the meeting, Richard and Dr. Chase struck a deal. Dr. Chase admitted in front of everyone present that Brody’s injury was most likely a scar tissue problem. A rather simple, but painful, non-injury of sorts. However, Trey Chase agreed to tell Brody his injury was worse than it was in order to create the possibility of putting him on injured reserve if a trade couldn’t be made. In the meantime, Brody would be benched, and his backup would get field time.”
“And IR would reduce his contracted salary.” The commissioner eyed Dick over his shoulder. “That’s a problem, Mr. Head.”
Hayes stood up, walked over to where the commissioner had been. “Yeah, it is.”
“In exchange for lying to Brody about the severity of the injury,” Mariana continued, “Richard would pressure Ms. Costello to move forward with a wedding she didn’t know about.”
My mouth fell open. This motherfucker told my ex that I’d marry him if he lied about Brody’s shoulder, so they didn’t have to pay him? “Are you fucking kidding me right now? Of all the jacked-up sh—”
Everyone turned to me. “Um, sorry?”
Mr. Brennan grinned. “Actually, Ms. Costello, I think that’s a rather accurate reflection.”
Brody smiled, and Hayes turned to Mariana. “So, if I’ve got this straight, Dr. Douche—uh, Chase, and Dick colluded to provide Brody false information about his health and used Lily as a bargaining chip?”
“You have no proof. It’s her word against mine.” Dick’s face was as red as a tomato as he pointed at Mariana.
Brody slid down on the couch, elbows on his knees. “Unfortunately, he’s right. I requested my medical notes from Darius, and my case file only says possible separation or scar tissue was the culprit. But last night, I called a few of my former teammates that are current Bulldogs players.”
Brody turned to Darius. “You’re up.”
Darius opened his file and pulled out several printed emails. “This is where I come in, and I believe Lily might, too. Dr. Chase has approached me about lying to players and coaches in regard to possible injuries on more than one occasion.” He turned to me. “Lily, has anyone approached you about doing the same?”
Slowly, I nodded. “Dick came to me and asked me to gloss over injuries or not to note the full extent of an injury so a specific player could continue to play. I refused, and I can give you the player names and dates. I believe my stepfather wanted me in this position as head trainer because he thought he could force me to help Dr. Chase manipulate player health issues to the team’s advantage.”
Brody had figured it out. I hadn’t sold him out for the shelter. I’d sold myself and was miserable because of it. Still, this was career suicide for him, and very possibly the end of my shelter hopes. Dick wasn’t going to push any shelter funding for me after what I’d just said. Although, I had the distinct feeling that a lack of funding would be the case until I played ball.
Darius stood, handing a thick folder to the commissioner. “I received these last night. Emails from four current team members who shared their interactions with Dr. Chase and believe health procedures weren’t properly followed. Everything from concussion protocols to repeated cortisone injections. In fact, in the previous season, Mr. Shaw was given a cortisone injection in his left shoulder before eleven of the thirteen regular season games he played, all done by Dr. Chase or Devon Taylor. He’s said that Dr. Chase assured him there were no side effects with the steroid injections.
“Recommended cortisone dosing for a non-athlete is no more than once every four weeks. It’s quite possible that excess injections of corticosteroids weakened the soft tissue around Mr. Shaw’s shoulder joint and contributed to his atypical dislocation. Without the injections, the dislocation was unlikely.”