Page 119 of Game Misconduct
I continue. “He was gay. He hadn’t officially come out, but a couple of guys overheard him talking to his partner on the phone in the locker room one day. He thought he was alone.”
I take a sip of wine before continuing. “Unfortunately, one of those guys didn’t keep his fucking mouth shut, and it got around. Most of us didn’t care. But one guy…”
I have to stop. My blood still boils to this day about the entire situation.
Not just because it was wrong, but also because it brought back way too many thoughts that hit too close to home.
“One guy—a veteran no less—decided to make it his personal mission to break him.”
Her brow furrows. “Physically?”
“Not at first. It started small. Verbal shit. Pranks. Cutting the kid’s laces. Turning his gear inside out.”
My hands clench into fists before I can think about it. “Then it escalated. Slashing him in practice. Elbowing him during drills. Just enough to look like bad luck if you weren’t paying attention.”
“Were the coaches really not paying attention?”
“Oh, they saw. But this guy was one of theirs. Legacy player. Face of the team for years. They weren’t going to call it what it was.”
She’s quiet for a second, but I can tell her gears are turning. “What did you do?”
I exhale slowly. “At first? I told the rookie to stay away from him. Keep his head down. Just play.”
She nods once, like she understands why that might’ve been my first instinct.
But she’s still watching me closely.
“But it didn’t stop,” I say. “And one day I lost it. Practice had ended, and I saw him push the kid into the boards from behind. Unprovoked. Just mean. I snapped.”
I can still feel the sharp echo of my skates cutting across the ice. The way my fists found that asshole’s collar and slammed him into the glass.
“It turned into a full-blown fight. I didn’t just throw a punch—I beat his ass. Told the team exactly what he’d been doing and dared anyone to defend it.”
Sloane’s face shifts. Not shock. Something closer to admiration flickering under control.
“They suspended me. Called it ‘conduct unbecoming.’” My voice turns flat. “The official line was that I’d attacked a teammate and violated team code. They never investigated the reason. Never made a statement about the rookie. Just buried it. Quiet. Clean.”
“And then they didn’t pick up your option.”
I shake my head. “Nope.
“What happened to the kid?”
I shake my head with a bitter chuckle. “They were going to keep him on. Even with all the bullying. But he asked for a trade and evidently got it. It was kept quiet too.”
“And the vet?”
“Still on the team. Still getting praise.”
She blinks. “Jesus. It’s Joshua Leonard, isn’t it?”
I take a bite of steak and nod, not trusting myself to speak.
“Ugh.” She flops back in her chair. “I’ve always hated that guy. He’s the only player in the league that my father and I agreed was the most overrated player to set foot on ice. Of course, Dean wanted him on the team last year for our inaugural year.”
Dean’s a fucking asshole, but I don’t say that aloud.
I tilt my head. “I have to admit, a lot of things I’ve heard about your father haven’t been positive, but that’s nice to hear. My father would’ve sided with the prick.”
