Page 43 of Bro Code

The GM was finishing a call, and Louis paced outside the door, chewing his nail. When he knocked and went in, the GM frowned and checked his watch, like he’d been expecting someone, but not Louis.

“Are you my ten o’ clock?” he said.

Louis sat down and opened the laptop. He swiveled it around. He explained.

When he was done, the GM said, “Sorry…who are you?”

“Louis Debonnes. I do data on the Sport Science team.”

“Are you under Holly?”

“Yes.”

“Then why the hell isn’t she bringing this to me?”

Louis hesitated.

“Who are you?” the GM repeated. “Are you a pscyh?”

“Ah…no. Data.”

“You’re the guy we just hired.”

“Yes.” Louis nodded, relieved. “Yeah, I came in a couple months ago and met you here–”

“The guy with no prior NHL experience?”

“Uh–”

The GM swept his suit jacket out of the way and put his hands in his pockets. “Didn’t we basically hire you because Nic Arsenault made a stink about you?”

“I don’t think that was the only reason⁠—”

“And now you’re trying to tell me I just traded my rock-solid veteran and two top-tier rookies for a guy with a broken brain?” He laughed, shaking his head. “No.”

Louis could feel himself staring again. There was no way this was happening.

“Sorry, Son, but you’re way out of your league here,” said the GM. “Look, if you can get Holly in here, or one of the psychs to back you up…maybe you have a case. But I’m not going on some goose chase based on data that came from a guy who’s worked here less than six months and doesn’t know anything about the game.”

“I know the game,” said Louis.

“I’m not talking about hockey, dipshit, I mean the corporate game. I’m talking about what will happen to this team if the league thinks I traded three of our best players for a headcase.”

“What will happen to you, you mean,” Louis replied.

The air went rigid.

The GM eyed him across the table. “Get out of my office,” he said. “And don’t come in here without an appointment again.”

Louis went numbly back down the hall. He couldn’t believe it. He’d never experienced anything like this. Since coming to Montreal, he’d worked for three different tech startups, and everyone he’d ever worked with in tech had been happy to take an idea wherever it came from. Didn’t matter if it was the most junior dev at the company or the CEO. He’d never encountered the kind of ego-driven hierarchy that made people outright reject data.

But then…the world of professional sports wasn’t like the world of tech. There were plenty of examples of organizations being willfully blind. The NFL ignored the evidence on traumatic brain injury for over a decade.

He sank into his computer chair and stared at his laptop. He was trying hard not to let his brain wander into They’re dismissing me because I’m black and gay territory, because he didn’t like to assume that about people. But it was there. He couldn’t ignore it.

He pulled off his glasses and rubbed his face with both hands. Familiar footsteps behind him turned his head, and to his surprise, he saw Holly coming through the bull pen. He shoved the glasses back on as she stopped beside his desk.

“Louis. Just checking in on the setup for the flight to California. Are you on the charter or are you flying commercial?”