Girls, Girls, Girls

Compton is pissed off. I have yet to figure out who he's upset with. On the surface, he seems like an ordinary, intelligent 19 year-old who's very opinionated. Over time, however, I've come to the realization that he harbors a lot of anger--and it's mainly towards women.

Compton came to my program as a transfer student from a 4-year college. Since I happened to know somebody from the school he attended, I decided to get some background information on him. Among other things I was told that Compton has an issue with women. Since that had nothing to do with basketball, I opted to brush off this tidbit of info. It just didn't seem relevant. Nevertheless, I stored the information in my memory bank for future reference...

When I watched Compton during practice, I liked his "edge." He was extremely competitive and fearless. Little did I know that his grit would bite me in the ass. Just a few games into the season we had a memorable angry exchange in the locker room. Admittedly, my decision to check him in front of his teammates after a blowout loss for being unsupportive on the bench was bad.

To my great surprise, Compton walked into my office a few weeks later to apologize. He owned up to being the guilty party, and promised to be a model citizen. As difficult as it was to accept the apology, I let him back on the team. I opted not to hold a minute-long angry tirade against him, especially since he had already missed five games.

Prior to our spat, he was on time for every practice and never did anything to warrant being punished. I reasoned that his unsolicited apology, and past good behavior, warranted a second chance. Compton didn't let me down. Upon returning, he played even harder than before and cheered more loudly on the bench for his teammates.

His turnaround stopped after the season, unfortunately. Compton failed every single class afterwards. His temper also reared its ugly head again at the Athletic Center. It was so bad that I had to call him in to discuss it.

Me: I got an email from the AD about some stuff that happened in the gym.
Compton: I figured you would.
Me: Do you have anything to say for yourself?
Compton: No, not really. It's just a situation that got out of hand. I'm gonna discuss it with the Dean.
Me: Honestly, I can't have that sort of thing happening when you're supposed to be representing my basketball program. You know I'm real picky with who's wearing our gear around campus.
Compton: I hear you. I just think she came at me the wrong way. Just cuz she works there, she thinks she's high and mighty.
Me: What's the problem with a student worker asking you to leave the gym five minutes before closing? She's doing her job.
Compton: Nah. She came at me the wrong way before and I just wasn't havin it.
Me: What did she say to set you off?
Compton: It wasn't about what she said. I just hate how women can say and do whatever with no repercussions. They're protected and they know it.
Me: Okay. So knowing that, why not just back off?
Compton: I felt she needed to know that she's a white bitch, that's all.