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His mom answers the door. “Austin! Hello.” She looks surprised to see me. And not necessarily in a good way.

“Hi, Ms. Elkind. Is Clay home?”

“He’s in his room, go ahead up.”

I take the stairs two at a time and knock on Clay’s door.

“Who is it?”

“Austin.”

Five-second pause.

“Come in.”

Clay is lying on his bed, staring at his phone, his left leg up on a few pillows.

“What’s up,” he says.

“Not much. I’ve been texting you.”

“Yeah, sorry, got a lot going on.”

I’m not sure what that could be since he’s laid up in bed, but I’m not going to say that out loud. “So, how’s it going? What’d the doctor say?”

“Some ligament damage, but not torn. Out for six to eight weeks at least. But there’s a chance I can play again this season.”

“That’s great news!”

“Yeah, fantastic.”

I take a deep breath and stare out the window at his pool, which is covered up for the season. “Listen, dude. I don’t know what to say. I messed up. I’m sorry.”

He’s still staring at his phone. “Yeah, no, it’s cool.” But it doesn’t seem cool.

“We’re gonna really miss you out there, Clay. You’re our best player and everyone knows it.”

“Not anymore. Order has been restored to the universe.”

“What does that mean?”

He looks up at me for the first time. “It means that for a long time, you were the best player. Then I grew tall and developed my game, and all of a sudden I was really good. Maybe even better than you. But now that I’m hurt, you’re the man again. Like I said, order has been restored to the universe.”

“Bro, you’re being ridiculous. I don’t care about being ‘the man.’ I just want to win.”

“Come on, PJ.” Clay adjusts one of the pillows under his leg. “Isn’t there some small part of you that’s psyched to be the leading scorer again? I mean, think about it—you’re part of the most famous basketball family in Walthorne. Now your parents won’t freak out that their son is the second-best player.”

I shake my head. “Seriously? Come on.”

Clay hesitates, like he’s not sure he wants to say what he’s about to say, but he says it, anyway. “Listen, I hate to say this, man, and I don’t believe it myself, but I’ve heard some people talking about how, like, maybe you wanted me to get injured, so you could take over the team again.”

I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “What? Are you for real right now? Like who?”

“I mean, you did kind of pressure me to play hurt, right?”

My skin starts to prickle, like it’s on fire. “Listen, Clay. I feel really bad that you got hurt, but it’s not like I ordered you to play the other night, I just asked you to.” I hear how mad I sound, and I don’t like it, but I can’t help it. “The coach could have told you not to. Your mom and dad could have told you not to. And also, you might have gotten that injury at the end of the game even if you hadn’t been hurt before. Injuries happen all the time in sports, remember? That’s part of the deal. So whatever you’re hearing is bull, and you know it. Whatever. I’m gonna go.”

I start to walk out of his room, then turn around and poke my head back in. “I hope you feel better,” I say.

Then I run down the stairs and out the front door without saying goodbye to his mom.

WWMS

WALTHORNE SOUTH RADIO

ALFIE:

Hello, and welcome to Talking Sports on WWMS. My name is Alfie Jenks. My guest today is Mr. Rashad, who works as a counselor in the Walthorne School System. Mr. Rashad, thank you very much for joining us today.

MR. RASHAD:

Wow, Alfie, you sound very professional.

ALFIE:

I’m not, trust me.

MR. RASHAD:

Well, I’m impressed.

ALFIE:

Thank you! I have asked Mr. Rashad to join us today to discuss youth sports and the situation regarding the blog post I wrote, when I mistakenly suggested that the coach of Walthorne North told one of his players, Clay Elkind, to play hurt.

MR. RASHAD:

Yes, I heard about that.

ALFIE:

I feel horrible and I promise to never make a mistake like that again, but what do you think about the fact that Clay was playing in the game?

MR. RASHAD:

I think it’s good that you’re going to be more careful about your reporting from now on. As for that young man who was playing hurt, I wish I could say I was surprised, but I’m not. I’ve seen all sorts of things happen on the field of play—or the court, in this instance—that make me wonder if the whole business of youth sports hasn’t gotten a little cockeyed.

ALFIE:

Cockeyed? How so?

MR. RASHAD:

Well, for one thing, I know that another player on Clay’s team took responsibility for urging Clay to play when he was injured. But when it comes to these kinds of decisions, it’s not the player’s fault. It’s never the player’s fault.

ALFIE:

I’m not sure what you mean, Mr. Rashad. Can you explain?

MR. RASHAD:

Sure, Alfie. The young man at Walthorne North who was encouraging his teammate to play through an injury may not have been using his best judgment. But in these types of situations, it’s always up to the adults to make sure the very best judgment is used, and in this case they failed. That is my concern, Alfie: It’s those very adults that get so caught up in the need to win, and being the best, that sometimes they forget their main responsibility, which is to protect the youngsters and allow them to grow.

ALFIE:

Huh. Well, that makes a ton of sense.

MR. RASHAD:

The thing is, Alfie, we can’t just complain about it. We also have to ask ourselves: Is there anything we can do about it?

ALFIE:

I sure hope so. Well, thanks for coming on my show, Mr. Rashad. This has been Alfie Jenks, Talking Spor—wait, actually, hold on a second! We