Kevin Pritchard sat by himself, brainstorming ideas on a blank sheet of paper. The off-season was a time for relaxing, but it was also a time for getting ahead of your competition. Doodles for a new mascot, little catchphrases for the commentators to use, thoughts on improving the game-day experience, they were all represented on the sheet in front of him. On a whim, he glanced over at a report from one of the Pacers’ foreign scouts, hoping to gain additional creativity from it.
A particular name caught his eye, and he immediately dropped his pen to pick up his phone. Pushing one button, he was connected directly to the Pacers’ coach, Frank Vogel.
“Frank, you have to get in here. Now.”
In a matter of seconds, Frank had run from a nearby office into the office of the GM. “What’s up, Kevin?” he asked, puffing a little and leaning against the wall to catch his breath.
Kevin held up the report from Europe. “We have to sign this guy. Look.”
Frank grabbed the paper and read, eyes furrowed. “Dam Jan…Rudez? Kevin, are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Mexican!” the two men exclaimed simultaneously, gleefully.
Barely containing his excitement, Frank gushed, “The Mexican population of Indianapolis will love this guy.” Then, the furrowed eyebrows returned to Frank’s face. “But it says here he played in Croatia?”
“Of course, Frank, do you think a great player like Dam Jan would stay in Mexico’s pathetic excuse for a national league? He wanted to get some exposure, some run against top-level European talent.”
Frank smacked his palm against his forehead. “Duh. Of course! So when can we sign this guy?”
Smiling widely, Kevin responded, “It looks like he’s a free agent. No rights or anything on him. I’m going to go ahead and offer him a contract. We’ll fly him in, wine and dine him, and he should be ours. The rest of the league is going to have so much egg on their face.”
———————————-
“Here he comes! He’s getting off the plane now!” Frank yelled, noticing an extremely tall man in the distance.
As the basketball player got closer, they noticed something was amiss. This new acquisition didn’t look Mexican. At all. The two men exchanged a glance.
“Well,” said Frank. “At least he’s white.”