No one says a word and it’s like the air has been sucked out of the room, because no one is concerned with a non-displaced fracture in the wrist. That’s an injury Tacker would come back from, probably prior to four weeks.
But everyone knows he was drunk when he drove his truck into the wall yesterday late afternoon. Coach Perron had to tell the team once we were all assembled in the locker room. Of course, many of them saw his truck all smashed in or as the wrecker was towing it away when they arrived to the players’ parking lot.
Frankly, it’s why we got our asses handed to us last night because every fucking one of us was shaken to the core by what Tacker had done. Everyone was afraid to voice it but I guarantee you every fucker on this team was thinking it was suicidal. I can’t tell you what a blow to morale it is when your captain and best player does something so egregious to his own health and safety, but that goes against the rules of this organization.
“I called this meeting to talk about Tacker,” Coach Perron says and it seems ominous. “Mr. Carlson flew in last night and met with me and Mr. Rutherford this morning. We want to be fully transparent with the team so we can process this and then move on.”
Coach pauses and looks around the room to be sure he has everyone’s full attention. “Tacker is going to be taken to the police station today after he’s discharged from the hospital and will be booked for Driving Under the Influence. Our team attorney has advised us that jail time is a possibility. As it stands, Mr. Carlson is on his way down to the station to bail Tacker out.”
There’re mutters of dismay and Erik who is sitting on the other side of Bishop says, “Fucking great.”
I have to say, though, I’m surprised Carlson came in for this. As the team’s owner, Dominik Carlson usually stays removed from this layer of player dealings. It would be up to the coach and general management to handle. But our owner has proven to take a more keen interest in his players in the past, so maybe it’s not all that surprising. I have to say, my respect for the man continues to grow.
He waits for the room to settle and Coach continues by bending his head and reading from something on the podium. “The decision has been made to suspend Tacker Hall from the Arizona Vengeance indefinitely until we can further assess the situation. We want everyone to know this decision was not made lightly but feel it’s in the best interest of this team to—”
I can’t help myself. I stand up and interrupt Coach’s written statement. “He needs help, not to be cut off from this team.”
Coach Perron glares at me. “If you would have let me finish, Mr. Bay, I have something to say about that too.”
I’m not abashed or put in my place, but I do give him a stiff nod as I slowly lower myself to my seat.
Locking his eyes on me for a moment longer, Coach continues without looking down at his statement. He leans his elbows on the podium. “Everyone on this team is well aware that Tacker has been through hell and back with everything surrounding the plane crash and losing his fiancée. We are all aware that he still struggles with those demons every damn day. Yesterday showed us all that he’s losing the battle and he needs help. The suspension is not punishment for what he did, but rather a step that will hopefully push him in the right direction. His return to this team is going to be contingent on him getting some counseling and making a serious effort to deal with his grief.”
“What can we do to help him?” Dax asks from the other side of Erik.
“Well, for one,” Coach says in a steely voice. “You can decide not to let this affect your game play. Tacker would not want this team to suffer for his mistakes. So dig in, play harder, and make up for the fact we lost a great talent.”
Several of the guys mutter their agreement.
“I don’t need to tell you guys how to be his friend, but he’s going to need it now more than ever.” Coach looks down for a moment, takes a breath, and coughs to clear his throat. When he looks back up, his voice is gruff with emotion. “We’ve all walked on eggshells around Tacker but I think that time is over. If he wants to be a member of this team—and I don’t even know that he does at this point—then you guys need to encourage him to work hard to come back. I’m not talking about his skills. He’ll always have his talent. I’m talking about his mental toughness. I don’t care if you drag him to church, invite him over to dinner, or workout with him, whatever you do, you do it with encouragement.”