My entire universe snapped to the size of a pinpoint, the noise around me fading, my body tingling, heart beat the only sound I could make out other than the distinct drags of my breath.
Beneath the headline was a subtitle:Viral podcast interview sparks backlash and renewed criticism of NFL cheerleader pay.
Darcy was at my side, asking something, but it didn’t register. And when Marcus scrolled down and tapped on the video, I knew before he played it what clip it was. I stood straight, tearing my eyes from the screen.
Which left me staring at the rest of my squad.
Okay… Okay, this is not the end of the world. I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true. I didn’t say anything that was scandalous.
But even as I tried to assure myself it would all be fine, the sharp truth cut through my denial: It didn’t matter what I’d said.
It mattered that I’d said it out loud.
To the wrong people. In the wrong place. Where it could be clipped, twisted, passed around until it didn’t belong to me anymore.
If I had a problem with my pay, I should have taken it up with Claire — quietly and professionally and behind closed doors.
I hadn’t been thinking. And now, I’d become a liability.
This was the kind of thing that could get me benched again, or cut altogether. It could get me blacklisted.
It could follow my name long after I hung up my uniform.
“Hey!”
I jolted when Marcus snapped his fingers in front of my face. He must have been saying my name and I hadn’t registered.
“Take a breath,” he commanded. “It’s fine. Everything is fine.”
Darcy nodded. “I mean, hey, maybe this will wake up the owners. You didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.”
The words didn’t soothe me, even when they came from one of my best friends. Because I knew exactly how the Seahawks would see it.
Not as truth.
As disloyalty.
As bad press.
As a problem.
“Who posted the article?” I managed to ask. My voice sounded thick and unfamiliar.
Marcus dragged a hand through his hair, looking around at the rest of our team who was watching from afar. “WSO.”
Women’s Sports Organization.
The most well-known and respected news source for women’s sports.
I shook my head. “I didn’t realize the clip had gone viral. I mean, they tagged me in it and I think I commented saying something about being thankful they had me on the show.”
“Apparently, it blew up over the last couple of days,” Marcus said, thumbing through his phone. Then his eyes bulged. “Holy shit. Twenty-nine-millionviews.”
My vision tunneled.
Somehow, I found a wall and slid down it, collapsing into a heap on the floor. It was as if that sent the team into action. Dancer after dancer surrounded me, some rubbing my arm,some telling others to clear space, some still standing at the edges and just watching.
Twenty-nine million.
