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02-26-2021, 10:27 AM
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#153 |
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Designated Red Shirt
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Re: House of 'Zards: Bazemore Returns
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Just wanted to pop in here and say I haven't forgotten about this, been super-busy with work and life the last month -- I'm actually considering just doing the bulk of the offseason recaps in a video to speed things up, I just don't have the time I used to at the moment. Thanks for keeping the faith, all.  |
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03-31-2021, 04:44 PM
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#154 |
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Designated Red Shirt
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Re: House of 'Zards: Bazemore Returns
georgiafan and marshdaddy like this.
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04-01-2021, 02:55 PM
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#155 |
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Designated Red Shirt
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Re: House of 'Zards: Bazemore Returns
 Ch. 16 The offseason had seemed to go by as slowly as possible — RJ had spent it primarily thinking about one thing and one thing alone: 4-0. The second round series against the Bulls, against the team his father played so long for and won so much with, was his chance to prove to the NBA and to everyone else that he was ready for the big stage, that he was ready for prime time. He had a shot at making the ECF in his first year, of leading his team to a place they hadn’t been in decades … and instead they got swept. Badly. It stuck with him. The talking heads going on and on about how he was too young, or he didn’t have “it” whatever the hell “it” was or how his teammates had let him down or how he had just failed to lead them. The media was happy to see him fall, happy to watch him stumble, and he knew that — it was the same *hit in college, the same in every level of his life since the day he was born, but this time it felt worse. This time he actually believed some of what was said. He had replayed the series countless times in his mind, on his TV, and on his basketball court, over and over … where did they go wrong? Was he not assertive enough? Was he too assertive? Did he put too much on the shoulders of his teammates? Did he simply not measure up? Every question failed to deliver an answer and only spawned more questions. The league spent the offseason analyzing everything he did, say, didn’t do, or never said … it was exhausting. It’s why he went dark the last two months, devoting himself exclusively to just playing basketball — training, learning, adapting. He didn’t talk to anyone, he didn’t see anyone, he stayed off the sports websites and news, he just focused on his craft … and catching up on Netflix when he needed a break. Training camps were starting next week and he knew his time of isolation was over. He had to go back to being the superstar of the Wizards and part of him was looking forward to battling on the court against real competition again; practice was one thing, real games were a completely different beast. His phone buzzed with a text and he paused his shooting drills to take a look — he was surprised to see a text from Regina Davies, his brand manager. Two things: 1, your gear deal is a go — shooter sleeve and headband are gonna be in your locker come camp next week, she wrote. Cool, what’s the second thing? He wrote back. 2 — there’s a loudmouth senator who decided to invoke your father as a “model” athlete. He’s a real piece of work, he’s gunning for the presidential nomination for next fall. The quote is making rounds, you’re likely to get questions about it — PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND. Let me and my team handle it, okay? RJ stared at the screen for a few seconds before opening up his web browser and searching for the quote. Whatever it was, it was trending on Twitter, which didn’t feel like a good thing. He opened up the video and watched. “Athletes don’t need to be involving themselves in politics,” said Senator Matt Gaines, a standard white politician if there ever was one — dude had brown hair, brown eyes, pretty teeth, and just a bit too much of a tan for someone from Missouri. “People like LeBron James using his position to advocate for things he doesn’t understand — this ‘social justice’ — is like me going to NASA and telling them how to launch a rocket. I’m not a rocket scientist and LeBron isn’t a politician. He’s getting paid millions of dollars to play a game and that’s fine, but that doesn’t make him an expert on anything except basketball. He should be like Michael Jordan — Jordan stayed out of politics, he stayed away from making sweeping assumptions about things he didn’t know. Remember, he said ‘Republicans buy sneakers, too’ and he’s right! The reason he’s one of the best we’ve ever seen is because he knew what he was good at — basketball — and stayed away from what he wasn’t. LeBron can never be Michael Jordan because LeBron is too busy trying to be an expert on things he’s not; he’s setting a bad example for young athletes everywhere — focus on your craft, leave the laws and politics to people who are duly elected to handle it.” RJ stared at video, dumbfounded. There were so many things wrong with what he had just watched … and he sure as hell wasn’t going to sit by and let some politician drag his father, drag LeBron, and drag athletes everywhere. He composed his tweet fast, the fury flying out of his fingers. “Just saw what @SenatorGaines said and I call B.S. Athletes have the same rights as anyone else to advocate for change, for justice, for a better America. Senator Gaines and people like him are narrow-minded and part of the problem; this country has a lot it needs to fix and telling people to ‘stay in their lane’ is just another form of repression. My father was never about that, so keep his name and LeBron’s name and everyone else’s name out of your mouth, Senator Gaines.” He hesitated for a moment as he read it back, his thumb hovering over the send button; Regina was his lead person for this, she and her team were great at social media … he had barely made any tweets anyway on his own damned account. But staying silent on this felt wrong. With a tinge of regret and a lot of satisfaction, RJ hit send. He then grabbed a link to the tweet and shot it to Regina, apologizing to her but standing by his choice. He then turned off his phone and went back to his shooting drill. For the first time in months, he felt like he had just done something meaningful. |
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04-02-2021, 09:39 AM
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#157 |
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Designated Red Shirt
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Re: House of 'Zards: Bazemore Returns
Ch. 17 His office was abuzz with activity and it was the type of activity befitting the man he was and the position he held; Senator Matt Gaines, senior senator from Missouri, head of multiple committees, was the frontrunner for his party’s nomination and he didn’t just want the presidency, he deserved it. He was a political superstar and he knew it; what he didn’t know, at least until his most recent interview had gone viral, was that so many of the voters were angry about the spoiled athlete — the guys who made millions in the pros playing a child’s game. The son of Michael Jordan’s tweet had supercharged the issue; both sides were engaged in an online war to decide who was right and who was wrong. That was generating a lot of press, a lot of attention, and — most importantly — a lot of opportunity to get his own face out there, to get his message out there, and to use that dumb kid as a symbol. Matt took a moment to straighten his cuffs and then buzzed his secretary. “Christie, please show Floyd in.” “Right away, Senator,” the chipper — if a bit stressed — voice answered. Christie was a nice girl; young, not particularly bright, but quite adept at these simple tasks. He could have hired someone smarter, someone better, someone more deserving … but the political arena, especially in DC, wasn’t about who was most qualified. It was about who they knew — or who knew them. Christie was a low-level government employee who knew no one beyond the people that stepped into the office, but her grandfather was a power-player in the party — as major a donor as a donor gets. Having her as his secretary, keeping her close, kept Matt just a few steps away from someone he needed if he was going to capture the presidential nomination. Floyd entered into his office, his business attire suitably drab — black suit, red tie, and a workman-like attitude. There was a reason Matt called him “No Frills Floyd”; the man simply did his job and made his money. “Floyd,” Matt said as he stood and motioned to the chair across from him. “Please, take a seat.” Floyd did as he was told and relaxed his shoulders once in the chair. “Senator,” the man said, his voice betraying no emotion at all. “I anticipated you’d call.” Matt flashed an empty smile. “You know me well.” “Too well,” Floyd said with a nod. “I saw your little Twitter war with the Jordan kid.” “Two differing opinions, one tempered with experience and the other too young to know better,” Matt said with a dismissive wave. “He’s not a threat … but he is a gift. One I’d like to continue to use for the benefit of my campaign and, of course, the American people.” Floyd took out a small notepad from his pocket. “Anything you want me to look into?” Matt smiled. In politics, such questions were never as simple or as easy as they appeared on the surface. Floyd wasn’t simply asking what to find, he was asking what Matt wanted him to find. Certainly, there were many things that Floyd could uncover legitimately — everyone had their secrets — but often in cases like these, when going against a celebrity with the kind of pedigree RJ Jordan had, those legitimate skeletons had already been scrubbed away. It was always a good idea to have a few extra skeletons to toss into someone’s closet for a rainy day. “The standard stuff,” Matt answered simply, though the subtext was understood by both. “And do place a call to Chief Weiss of the DC PD — we want to make sure to do our due diligence. Young athletes often have run-ins with the law as they’re adjusting to their new life as a professional …” Floyd scribbled down some notes, placed the notepad back into his pocket, and stood. “I’ll start looking into it.” Matt stood as well. “Thank you, Floyd. Good hunting.” Floyd allowed a smirk. “You too, Senator.” With that the man left and Matt’s phone buzzed a moment after — his reminder alarm from his calendar had gone off. He had another interview in fifteen minutes to discuss what the Jordan kid had said … the first in a day full of them. No such thing as bad publicity, he thought to himself with a chuckle.
marshdaddy likes this.
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