“Not at all.” While she gets set up, I take a moment to ask, “So what magazine do you work for again?”
I should know this and ordinarily I would before I agreed to give an interview, but Brooke had asked me to do this as a favor as Chelle was a friend of hers from New York. She works for a company called LWW Enterprises, which is launching a new sports magazine for women.
Shooting me a quick glance, Chelle smiles. “Right now it’s just an online blog called Sporting Insights.”
“And it caters to women?” It’s a fascinating concept, and I was intrigued enough I didn’t mind doing this little interview for Brooke.
Chelle nods and turns to me with an enthusiastic sparkle in her eyes. “We cover all the mainstream sports—and even those that aren’t—but we focus more on what women want to know about the sport.”
I can’t help but tease. “Like they want to know stuff like what fashion labels I wear or what cologne I use? Stuff like that?”
Snorting, Chelle rolls her eyes. “Please… give our women readers some credit. You’d be surprised how many women out there are deeply rooted in sports, which are dominated by male players. Some of them know the ins and outs of a sport far better than many men do. But we do focus on some of the lighter things like home-life balance, dealing with notoriety and pressure, and mental health awareness issues.”
I blink at her stupidly, effectively put in my place. “That’s actually some serious stuff. Have to tell you, most men readers just want to know stats and what my workout routine is.”
Chelle laughs and replies, “Hey, you don’t have to convince me the female species is the deeper of the two.”
A bartender comes up and asks Chelle what she’s drinking.
“Bottled water,” she replies efficiently before she asks me, “Are you under any time constraints? Shouldn’t take more than half an hour.”
“I’m getting ready to meet my wi—” I catch myself, give a cough. “My girlfriend for dinner here. But we’ve got about twenty minutes.”
I half expect Chelle to seize on the opening and ask me something personal about my “girlfriend,” but she doesn’t.
She merely gives me a brisk nod, references something on her iPad, and then shoots her first question. “The Vengeance is doing what no other expansion team has ever done… entered the league and shot straight to the top. What’s the secret to your team’s success?”
I launch into a recitation of the perfect recipe that sort of came together on this team. Unmitigated talent, great coaching, and a team owner who believes in his men. We talk for fifteen minutes straight, and I am incredibly impressed at the level of awareness Chelle has about the depth charts as well as a pretty damn good analysis of our chances in the playoffs.
She asks a few follow-up questions. I find her to be thoughtful as she prods way past the surface of most interviews I’ve done.
She also stays aware of the time. As we’re winding up, she says, “One last question. I have to ask you about the lawsuit that’s been filed against you, Erik Dahlbeck, Sebastian Parr, and the team as a whole for sexual harassment. The responsive court documents I’ve looked at show an adamant denial of all of her charges, and I don’t expect you to tell me anything different than that. But I am curious as to your feelings on the matter.”
Any veteran professional athlete has got to be ready for tough questions in any interview. I had suspected this was going to come because it is pretty buzzworthy news around the sporting world.
I try to temper my answer as best I can while still making clear my disgust over the whole matter. “You are correct we have categorically denied all of her allegations. When it’s all said and done, you will see she has absolutely no proof to back up her claims. And while I can’t speak for the team or the other men named in the lawsuit, I can tell you that I will never, ever pay her a dime. If I do something wrong, I’m man enough to admit it and accept the consequences of my actions. But in this instance, Nanette Pearson is flat-out lying about us harassing her.”
The reporter cocks an eyebrow. “Can I quote you on that?”
I nod. “You can quote me on anything I’ve said here today.”
“As this case progresses and is eventually resolved, do you mind if I contact you for a statement?”
I flash her a confident smile. “I don’t mind at all.”
I give Chelle my direct email address that is set up through the Vengeance organization. She offers to send me a copy of her article before she publishes it, and I gratefully accept. While she seems on the up and up and it sounds like she’s going to put out a really interesting piece, I don’t mind taking a gander at it first.