We eventually made it in front of the conference room, where everything was being held. It was time for us to start walking in, so Donovan opened the door, allowing me to walk in first, and I did. Just out of respect, I spoke to everyone inside the room, even though some of them probably wanted to throw my ass under the bus and strip me of my career.
My football coaches were in here, so I walked over to them, and I embraced them. As pissed off, and disappointed that I knew coach Tim was with me, he still slapped me on my chest, gave me a quick motivational speech, letting me know that I had this, and once it all blew over, and they cleared me to come back to play, he let it be known that he was going to drill the fuck out of me in my first practice. With a smile, I let him know that I was cool with that, and then I went back over with Donovan, so that I could take a seat next to him.
Lined up in the front of the room was all the members of the disciplinary committee. Each of them had these serious looks on their faces, so one would think that I was facing a murder charge, instead of some petty illegal gambling that I was doing. There was a white woman that sat in the middle, and if I had to guess her age, I would say that she was probably in her early forties. She had paperwork sitting in front of her. She went on to clear her throat, and she tucked her hair behind her ear, getting started.
“Good morning, everyone. We are all here today for a league disciplinary hearing regarding Rico Briggs,” she started, eyes on everyone in the room. She took a quick deep breath and then continued in her opening statement.
“The purpose of this hearing is to examine the findings of the league’s investigation, allow all relevant parties to be heard, and ultimately, make a profound decision on any disciplinary action moving forward,” she got right to the point. She didn’t beat around the bush on what she wanted to say. She let it be known what we were here for, and that was that.
Right after she said that, she went around the room, doing a rollcall, just wanting to see who was all present this morning. Once that was done, she announced that everything that took place today in this hearing was going to be recorded, and she explained the process. The process seemed a little tough, especially since I knew they were going to show everything on the whiteboard that was behind us, so we would all see the shit that I’d gotten myself wrapped up in with Toby. It was something that I wasn’t proud of, and even though I knew that it would be broadcasted in here this morning in front of everyone, I still wasn’t mentally prepared for it.
The same woman that had been doing all the talking, she rose from her chair, so that she could go to the front of the room. The whiteboard projector screen was on, so I knew that she was getting ready to show all kinds of shit on that board that had everything to do with me. That made me a little nervous, so my leg started bouncing up and down, and the bottle of water that was sitting before me on the table, I picked it up and took a long swig of it. Donovan peeped what I was doing, so he reached his hand over, put it on my shoulder, and I knew that that was his way of telling me to calm the fuck down.
“A month ago, the league obtained an anonymous email through their compliance reporting system. In that email, there were call logs, screen shots, and pages and pages of betting records, which showed the illegal gambling that involved Mr. Rico Briggs. In those screenshots, we were able to see that the illegal sports betting had taken place for two seasons. It statesin the league’s policy, along with the contract, that any form of gambling is prohibited. When the league got a hold of these findings, they immediately began an investigation, and since then, Mr. Briggs hasn’t been able to play, as the investigation remained ongoing,” she finished.
She stood her ass up there for about fifteen minutes, just airing out all my fuckin dirty laundry. Made a nigga out to be a monster. A few times, I felt myself ready to stand up, crash out, tell her to shut the fuck up, but I remained planted in my seat, and I didn’t say a damn thing. She’d just about covered every damn thing, so nobody else from her team should be able to say anything else following that.
She took her seat, and that’s when Donovan stood up, having his jump drive in his hands because just like her ass just finished putting on a whole entertainment production, Donovan planned to do the same.
He went up to the front, plugging the jump drive into the laptop, and the document that he needed appeared on the white board, and he pressed it. First picture you saw on the screen was one of me. I was on the field, and I’d just ran the touchdown that had given our team a victory. I remember that game. That was the game where we played Florida State. The game where I made the decision to stop being Toby’s bitch, and to play the game how I wanted to play it. Hours later, that nigga pulled up on my baby mama, and my daughter.
“When I hear the name Rico Briggs, the illegal gambling that he was a part of doesn’t come to mind. When I hear the name Rico Briggs, this person that I see on this whiteboard is who I think of. The greatest wide receiver in the nation. Someone’s son. Someone’s grandson. Someone’s friend,” Donovan started, and the flicked through, showing pictures of me in every area that he just mentioned. There were pictures that came on thescreen with both my parents. Another one with me, and my grandma, and the final one was with me and my teammates.
“My client made a mistake. Was it a stupid mistake that he could have avoided? Yes. We’re looking at a man that doesn’t have any kind of record of engaging in any criminal activity before this. A few speeding tickets, but nothing serious. We aren’t here today to dumb down his actions. In fact, my client takes full responsibility of what he’s done, and we both understand the severity of it. Rico’s father put a football in his hands when he was just four years old, taking him out to one of the parks in Miami, where he started playing ball at just the tender age of four. From day one, he showed his greatness,” Donovan went on, and a picture flashed on the screen of me at 4. It was my first game, and I was suited up. My dad was standing right next to me on that picture, and he looked proud of me.
“I know a lot of football players like to make football the focal point of their life, and slack off when it comes to their academics, but that’s never been the case with Rico. Rico graduated high school at the top of his class. He did what he had to do in high school, keeping his grades up, and he stayed out of trouble. Rico comes from a family of structure, which explains why he doesn’t have a history of being a troubled kid, or adult. The decision that he chose to make these past two football seasons wasn’t something that he made for the thrill of it. My client was blackmailed, and during his time of being blackmailed, he feared for the safety of himself, and his family. I understand that the goal here is to make Rico take accountability, and he plans to do that. Although, I don’t believe accountability means stripping him of football, and everything that he’s worked so hard for since the age of four. He’s put too much time, sacrificing, and dedication into this for it to be stripped away from him for one mistake,” Donovan went on.
“All I’m asking for you all today is to see this man for who he is as a whole. Don’t just make judgements on him for the one thing in his life that brought us all here today. My client is one of the good ones that made it out of the bad parts of Miami in which he grew up, and he went on to do good things with his life. Thank you for your time,” Donovan finished.
He walked back over to me, and I reached my hand out, so that I could slap hands with him because I felt like he fought well for me. After that, everything was damn near a blur. Other league representatives went up, so that they could speak. They referenced the police, and broke down what’s in my contract, paying close attention to the rules that I’d broken. They let it be known that it was a privilege to play college football, especially for one of the best colleges teams in the league, and how I should have moved as if it was a privilege. Of course, the betting was brought up again, really wanting to continue to draw attention to that.
My coaches had gone up, so that they could back me up. This went on for about two hours, and after everyone had spoken, the league asked for ten minutes, so Donovan and I walked out of the room, so that we could take a quick break.
I couldn’t keep still. My ass was pacing back and forth with my hands in my pockets. Donovan stood there cool, watching me, as if he knew something that I didn’t know because he didn’t look to have a care in the world.
“What NFL team you want to play for?” he asked, and I paused from walking back and forth, so that I could look at him like he was crazy.
“Nigga!” was all I had to say to him, and he laughed.
“It’s called thinking positive, Rico! For me to ask you that, that obviously means that I feel as if this shit is going to work in our favor. Stop pacing. Stand still man,” he snapped.
I heard him, but I didn’t stop. I continued to pace, and before I knew it, the ten minutes had gone by, and we were back in the room, taking our seats. I downed the rest of my water, and I even took Donovan’s bottle that he never opened, so that I could down his too.
It was the white woman from the league that opened it out, that took to the front of the room. I had no idea how this was going to go, so I just sat back in my seat, ready for whatever. If I couldn’t play ball again, I was going to have to accept that shit. You can’t go through life, thinking that you can fuck up, and that there won’t be any kind of consequences set in place.
“The league and I have brought our investigation to an end. We considered everything that was presented to us today. We’ve reached a decision. Mr. Briggs, you have been cleared of any criminal misconduct, and we find you eligible to resume football effective immediately,” she said, and in a room filled with all these people, I didn’t give a damn because I dropped my head, and I started crying like a little bitch.
I mean, broke down in full on tears. Donovan put his hand on my shoulder, and he aggressively shook me, happy about the news for me.
“However, Mr. Briggs, the league still finds that you violated policies with your illegal sports gambling. With that, there are still disciplinary actions set in place for you. You will be charged a monetary fine of $250,000. Along with that, you are required to complete a program that must be league approved, teaching you the importance of ethics, and integrity. We are also requesting that you take counseling on gambling education. You have plenty of youth that look up to you, and you don’t want them to think that what you did is okay, so you’ll also be required to participate in community outreach, that’s in relation to youth sports. When all these requirements are met, that’s when this matter will be settled. Good day,” she finished.
I continued to cry like a little bitch, head down, thanking God for that angel that was watching over me, and kept getting me out of deep messes that I kept getting myself into. Donovan pulled me up by my arm, and we embraced in a brotherly hug, as he continued to remind me of the promises that he’d made me, and how he was going to get me out of this shit. I thanked him plenty of times, and even though he was paid, I even asked the nigga was there anything else that I could give him to show my appreciation. All he did was laugh and tell me to stay the fuck out of trouble, and for me to take my ass to the NFL, so that I could make the entire Miami proud.
My coaches came over, and they let me know how happy they were. Them niggas also made it clear for me to come prepared Monday morning because the plan was for them to work the fuck out of me in practice. I’ll take it though. I couldn’t wait to get back out there on the field.
7:45 P.M.
“Where Promise at?” I asked my grandma, walking in the house, holding a bottle of water in my hand.
