Under Further Review

by Xyla Turner

  Three months earlier:

  The plane was not packed, which was great since Diamond had not been in the mood for small talk. She put her small bag in the overhead bin, so she would have leg room and enough for her laptop. She needed to scout out the people she would be working with at her new job reporting for the local DC television, WUSA. Diamond was elated about the opportunity, but more ecstatic about getting away from sunny California. No more Heathcliff, no more Genevieve, no more news, and no more anything that reminded her of the ‘failure’.

  She did not realize she was muttering, until a guy walked up to her and said, “Were you talking to me?”

  Slowly, Diamond looked up and saw a tall, handsome, Hispanic man, with dark curly hair and a chiseled nose. “Oh, no. Just talking to myself.”

  “Oh,” he wrinkled his eyebrows in disappointment. “I can talk, if you want.”

  Feeling slightly annoyed, Diamond responded, “Oh, no. I’m not really up for company.”

  “That’s unfortunate.” He sat down next to her.

  Diamond turned her body half of the way to face him with an astonished look. She gasped, “What are you doing?”

  “Talking with a beautiful lady,”

  “But I don’t want to talk,” Diamond curtly responded.

  “Doesn’t mean you don’t need to. Woman, like yourself, talking to herself. That’s not good.”

  The annoyance of this guy started to bubble over, when she snapped. “Look, I don’t feel like having company. I don’t want to talk. This plane is empty; can you please choose another place to sit?”

  The man reared his head back, like he was offended and put off. “Well, lady. All you had to do was ask. There was no need for you to be so abrasive.”

  Diamond sighed, “I did ask.”

  He gathered his bag and stormed to the back of the plane, while Diamond shook her head. She closed her eyes, to get ready for her new life, her new job and her new beginning. Free of any failures, free of any regrets and open to all that she set out to get.

  Present Day

  “You won’t last long here.”

  “Excuse me?” Diamond looked at the older man whose beer belly more than quadrupled over his pants and his stringy hair spoke volumes about his hygiene.

  “You’re too nice. You have to be cutthroat to survive in this business. You don’t got that and until you get that, you won’t make it here.”

  She was sitting in her cubicle in front of a blank screen getting ready to write up a report. Up until this point, she was given odd jobs, high school teams and one time, there was a little league game. As a sports news reporter, Diamond knew that there were not a lot of women and definitely very little women of color in the industry. Her brown, mocha skin, petite stature and the innocent look were also something that either worked for her or against her, depending on her audience.

  Three months on the job and she still had yet to get anything substantial. This needed to be addressed and Diamond planned to do that as soon as her manager came into work. After she typed up her notes from the high school football game, she looked at the highlights from last night’s game, Eagles vs. Redskins. Her team won, mainly because the Eagles have not had a winning streak in over five years, so the Redskins weren’t necessarily the better team. Shane Sinclair had scored two touchdowns, which was rare and he had ran eighty yards. He was a good and solid player, definitely on the rise to being a hall of famer, but his arrogance was just over the top.

  He was known to dislike reporters and during any post game conferences, he would either flat out play jokes on the reporters, sing songs or refuse to talk. He had to show, because it was in his contract, but not once since Diamond had been following him, had he ever talked to a reporter. They had a game in two days, so she would ask or persuade LeAnne to let her cover it with someone else.

  As Diamond looked at the clock, awaiting her manager’s arrival, her mother texted her that she was going to come to town in two months, so she needed to plan something to entertain her. Diamond looked at the schedule and saw that the Redskins would be playing against the Broncos, and that was why her mom was coming. She was born and raised in Oakland, California, but the woman was a Denver Bronco’s fanatic. Deidra Reeves, Diamond’s mother, has been a sports fan all her life. That’s where Diamond received it from. For fun, they would go to see football, baseball and basketball games. Her mother was a lover of all sports, but those three were her favorites. This was passed on to Diamond, who decided in college that she wanted to be a reporter, then she narrowed it down to sports.

  Thirty minutes later, LeAnne Whitley, strode through the door with her standard flat shoes, gray slacks and a white blouse. She always wore business casual attire, which in Diamond’s mind, made sense. She was another woman in a male dominated environment, so whatever she did get, she had to work twice as hard. Hence, why most of the time, people just thought she was abrasive. Diamond had not experienced that side of her yet, but she intended to brace herself for when it did happen.

  There was no surprise when Diamond walked in wearing her four-inch pumps, a smart navy suit that showed her curves with a tie and ruffle blouse. Her straightened hair was pinned up in a bun and she had diamond studs in her ears.

  “What can I do you for, Ms. Reeves?” LeAnne briefly looked up, then back to her screen, barely long enough to acknowledge her presence.

  “Good morning LeAnne. The Redskins play the Cowboys and I would like to cover this on site.” Diamond smiled at her screen.

  “Well, I already have two people there. So, no,” was her reply as her eyes bore into the screen.

  Diamond started to feel her pressure cooker rise. It was one thing to give her a real reason, but it was another to dismiss her without even looking at her. She knew she didn’t have too many options, because as diverse as DC is, women in the professional sporting arena were rare and while they won’t admit this practice is common, but the companies simply won’t hire a woman. If she went to another station, they would hire her, but not for sports. She’d wanted to do this since she was a kid, as she and her mother would often commentate about the game to each other. She had to do this. She could not fail at something else.

  “LeAnne,” Diamond said sternly. “I came to DC to work here, because I was told that I would be a sportscaster and I do not mean for little league, middle or high school. Anyone can do that.” LeAnne looked up and over her glasses. “I came here to do the pros and specifically during this season, I intend to do the NFL. There is no reason, why I should be denied that right, especially when you hired me for that. Now what will it be?”

  LeAnne took off her glasses, pursed her lips and asked, “Is that an ultimatum, Ms. Reeves?”

  “No, it’s a question.” Diamond refused to shift her weight and remained standing straight up with her eyes on LeAnne’s.

  She put back on her glasses and said, “Fine, we’ll try you out this season, on a local basis only. So all home games are yours.” LeAnne kept her eyes on Diamond, then she did the unfathomable. She smiled and said, “Nice to meet you Diamond.”

  Putting her glasses back on, she turned back to her screen as Diamond tried not to jump up for joy.

  “Thanks LeAnne, I appreciate this.”

  “Don’t let me down,” she called as Diamond scurried out of the office.

  She briskly walked to the bathroom, looked under the stalls and began to pump her fist in the air in front of her and twist her hips, whispering, “Yes, yes, yes!”

  There was a noise, so Diamond stopped her dance and chanting, went to wash her hands and proceeded to take an early lunch. She had to call Trudy and Bridget, her cousins, who were probably just getting up, since they were on California time, but if she called Eddie and Regina, they should be taking lunch soon. They both worked at MSNBC, but different in departments. Eddie was an editor and Regina was the fashionista, who helped the anchors with what they wore while on camera. They met at a community relations training when Diamond first started
at WUSA. The workshop was beneficial for her since she was new to DC, but Eddie and Regina were not pleased at all. Despite their upset about being at the day-long training, they took an instant liking to Diamond, because she introduced herself as a sports reporter. Later they told her, it took a lot of courage to be in that pond full of men and survive. She explained to them that she was a reporter that started to work on sports at her last job in California, but she had to move, so she was now in DC.

  From that day forward, the three of them hung out for lunch, dinner and even planned weekend events. Eddie and Regina both knew about Diamond’s woes getting the better reporting assignments, so they would be thrilled that she obtained what she wanted. As she was leaving she texted them that she was on her way to their building, which was only a ten-minute walk. They were right off of Nebraska Avenue and she was on Wisconsin Avenue in Northwest DC. The food was much better near the MSNBC building, because the churches on the street sold food platters. Home cooked, southern cooking was the absolute best and with this news, she deserved a treat.

  “Giiirrlll, this is freaking awesome,” Regina exclaimed, in her bright yellow dress with cyan heels and light pink lipstick, after I told them what happened with LeAnne.

  Those colors might not look like they should go together, but on her, it looked like a work of art. Diamond was blessed with acne-free skin, so she did not wear a lot of foundation. However, Regina said her father had bad acne, her father’s father had it and she was cursed with it too. She felt that in order to remain in the type of business she was in, she needed to look the part. This had reminded Diamond of LeAnne with her slacks and blending in with her men colleagues. This did not appeal to Diamond, but she was not naïve enough at twenty-seven years of age to say what she would and would not do.

  “This is awesome, Dye. I mean, you can’t beat that. Next season, you’ll be able to travel and maybe get a man,” Eddie chimed in.

  Diamond rolled her eyes. “Yeah, sounds like my life goals. The last thing I am looking for is a man. What I am looking for is my next level.”

  “Well, that could be a man too,” Regina added. “I’m just saying, girl. Those football players are just hot, even if they aren’t, they are.”

  “That’s because you’re looking at their pockets and not their faces,” Eddie said to Regina.

  “They all look the same to me,” Regina laughed, not offended at all.

  “You guys are a mess.” Diamond shook her head and walked ahead of them. “Can we please get to the church, before the line is around the corner?”

  They finally made it and fortunately, they were the first in line. After they ordered, they went to the Massachusetts’s Avenue Park to eat.

  “So, did you tell your mom yet? She’s going to be ecstatic,” Eddie said with a mouthful of potato salad.

  Regina nodded her head in agreement, while Diamond finished chewing on her deliciously flavored string beans.

  “Not yet. She’s on California time, so she’s not going to be up for another hour or so,” Diamond finally managed to get out.

  “Speaking of this new gig, how in the hell are you going to handle the mob and the one and only Shane Sinclair? He hates reporters, plays tricks on them and even debases them when they try to engage him.”

  “Oh, I won’t be engaging him at all. The last thing I need is for LeAnne to pull me off this new assignment, because he made me cry. Hmm, I cry at all the animal and sick kid’s commercials.” Diamond shook her head.

  “I highly doubt that you will cry. If anything, I think you’d give him a piece of your mind and that would go viral,” Regina laughed.

  “Yeah, I see you snapping on him. Might serve him some good,” Eddie mused.

  “No, I’m not engaging with that brooding man. I have no intentions of doing that,” Diamond decided.

  The next day Diamond was so elated, her stomach was in knots, so she decided to go for a run before she left for the game. Exercise always put her at ease ever since middle school when she started to play basketball and run track. Before a big test, she ran and prior to a game or a meet, she would attempt to work out in some form. Diamond continued to compete in both sports in high school and college, winning multiple awards. As a student-athlete, she excelled in both the classroom and on the field/court. She always attributed that to her ability to relax and remain calm after exerting all of her nervous energy.

  When she arrived, she was greeted by several guys and fellow reporters in a flirtatious way, until they saw her press badge, then they ignored her. Diamond had on another light pink blouse with no frills or fluff and a black A-line skirt with black four-inch heels. The Redskins had just won their division championship game and Diamond knew everyone would be in a good mood. Apparently, the mood was so good, that Shane Sinclair and a few other players were singing ‘We are the champions’ at the top of their lungs. The reporters in the front were trying to get their attention and ask them questions, but Shane kept singing loudly, even when the other players stopped. One player tapped him and motioned for him to stop. He did, but pulled out his phone.

  At the table sat: Shane Sinclair, running back, Keith Tuto, linebacker and the quarterback, Matthew Cunningham. All three men were specimens to admire. Matthew was the smallest of the three men, then Shane and finally Keith, who looked very menacing. He was at the end, but Matthew was the one to hit Shane. Sinclair had been with the Redskins for five years, even after his contract was up. It showed loyalty, yet what he gave off was an arrogant disregard for other’s professions. Reporters have a job to do and while most people don’t like the intrusiveness of their job, it’s still their livelihood and the news still needed to be reported.

  Diamond completely disregarded what she just said she would not do, raised her hand to ask a question to the sullen running back. She was too far in the back, so she started moving people out of the way, so she could make her way to the front. A few reporters weren’t budging, so she went around them and as soon as she reached the front, Cunningham pointed to a reporter in the back.

  “Yes, Mr. Wiggins. What can we do you for today?” His tone was dripping with sarcasm.

  Tony Wiggins was a known jackass and he seemed to marvel in his title. He was also a bully that nobody liked and the players equally did not care for him, because he always hit below the belt. Even with a win, he had a way of turning things around so that a player or coach could feel like they were just blown out and their contribution to this sport was insignificant. How he was a reporter, nobody knew. How he stayed a reporter, because he was always surrounded by some form of controversy and that meant ratings. It meant something when the most laid back player of all time, Matthew Cunningham, made it plain he did not want to call on him. Diamond would bet her paycheck, that he had to call on him. That was probably in the contract too.

  “Actually Matt, this one is for Shane over there,” Wiggins responded.

  Oh boy, Diamond thought. Most reporters left Shane Sinclair alone, even Wiggins. Since he’d had a few showdowns with the mouthy running back before. However, any question directed at him would probably be the end of this fiasco. What Diamond did not expect was for Wiggins to say the most horrific thing in sports history on national television. It was actually the most horrific thing in television history.

  3

  Remembered Legacy

  Shane felt like yesterday went by in a blur, his mom told him that his dad was having heart palpitations, but that she was going to give him some aspirin. He wanted to come over, but his mom discouraged it, because his father would get upset that he is making a big deal about him, when he should be prepping for the game. Shane was in the car, about to start the ignition, when his mom put his father on the phone who sternly said, “Keep your butt over there, I’ll be fine. Just worry about winning that game tomorrow. Okay, son?”

  He mulled it over for a bit, then he answered, “Fine dad, but the moment anything changes, call me.”

  “You focus on the game. I can handle my own a
ffairs. Also, when are you going to quit giving those reporters your butt to kiss? I think they are getting sick of your antics.”

  “Dad, you know how I feel about them. They are beyond intrusive and they ask redundant questions all the time. Why do I have to do the dog and pony show with them after every game? When they stop asking me stupid questions, I’ll stop being stupid.”

  “Okay, son. It’s your show, but just remember, it’s your legacy as well.”

  “Yeah, I hear you, Dad.” Shane knew he was right. When all the cards fell, what did he want to be said about him as a player?

  He knew this, but he just wasn’t there yet. At twenty-eight years of age, getting closer and closer to thirty, he knew that his lifespan in the NFL as a running back would not be much longer, so he had to focus on the end goal. His father was right, he would need to re-evaluate this one day, just not tomorrow. The day of the championship. He had something planned for this one.

  Right before the game, the locker room was extremely intense. Reporters were in and out, but some were very respectful and tried to give them their space. Others, like Tony Wiggins and Brad James were not. They were both known as hard asses in the industry. Nobody actually liked them, but most players did not want their wrath on them, so they tolerated them. Shane did not care one way or another, because they were the main reporters he did not like and unfortunately when he first started in the league, he was always in front of the camera, because it was there. Anytime they wanted to talk, he would talk. They wanted a quote, he gave it. They were constantly going to him and even more when he became a starting running back. However, when he was having a bad game, he made the mistake of watching the news and those same reporters that were in his face before and after each and every game, were the same one’s twisting his words around. Insinuating his performance would have the Redskins trade him, and how he should not start any longer.