Previously on "All American: Homecoming"...
Keisha: The exhibition, the PKZ stuff,
and this internship with Lando's sister,
you're low-key killing the game right now.
Integrity. That's the most important thing
an athlete, a teammate, a man has,
and without it, nothing else matters, son.
Some of our programs are on the short list for being cut.
Given the baseball program's already
on shaky ground as is--
We move to the top of that list.
Celine: Do you remember how sick you were as a kid?
J.R.: Having aplastic anemia isn't something
that you forget easily.
Amara: Last semester, I was fighting to keep my job.
Now I'm the president.
Keisha: College sweethearts getting back together thing is really dope.
You two bring out the best in each other.
Marcus, who is this?
I'm Crystal, his wife.
Simone: I guess that baseball thing
did have some effect on you, huh?
Yeah, something like that.
I don't want to be friends with benefits.
I want more.
I've always loved you.
I've loved you since I stole your phone
at homecoming two years ago. Choice is yours.
Simone: Sorry it took me so long, but I know who I want.
It's you.
Simone, voice-over: I didn't think my junior year
would start like this.
Just a few months ago, it was championship week,
sophomore year,
and it was the happiest I've been in a really long time,
a year of bliss with the man I chose
at the end of freshman year.
[Chuckles]
You know we're gonna have
to get out of this bed at some point.
Uhh, says who?
Says the fact that you have a championship game today
and you can't win it from my bed.
You sure about that?
Yeah. [Damon chuckles]
[Both laughing]
Boy, stop it. You're a fool.
Come on. I'm serious. I'm serious.
Ahh...
Today's a big deal.
You win today, and Bringston Lions
finally become conference champs.
You carried this team on your back,
and I'm proud of you.
I'm proud of you, too,
and, hey, I know that you're disappointed
you didn't win your championship tournament
after finally qualifying this year.
Oh... Hey.
Hey, it's OK.
I've mourned the loss, and I've moved on.
Enough about tennis.
Today is about you
and the Bringston Lions baseball team.
Y'all's time is now, baby.
Man: ♪ Put the--put the-- put the--put the--put the-- ♪
♪ Put the pedal to the metal in a minute ♪
♪ Dance with it... ♪
Ball 3.
Announcer: This has been a rough day for the Bringston Lions.
Top of the seventh, Sims is on the mound,
brought in to stop the bleeding.
Tennessee is up 7-4, two outs, two runners on base,
Glasper up to bat.
Strike!
Man: ♪ Involved with all of this madness ♪
♪ You slowly develop into a savage... ♪
Announcer: That's deep center field.
It's going. This could be--
Yes! It clears the fence.
That is a home run for Glasper and 3 more runs for his team.
What the hell is going on?
We're the better team, but Tennessee Central
is running right over us.
Maybe if you'd have picked Lando,
he would have been better in the first few innings.
That is not funny. Besides, he's over it.
It's been a year.
Is it naive of me to think that Lando would still
want to be friends after I chose Damon?
Yes. Yes.
OK. Look...
all I know is, someone needs a W and fast.
We can't have the baseball team go down
like the tennis team and the lacrosse team did
in their championship games. No offense.
All offense taken.
I have faith in our boys.
They still have time to come out of this slump.
Sure a little support
from their president couldn't hurt.
[Knock on door]
Cam: They called again, Dr. P.
They're emailing me now, too.
Gonna avoid them forever?
Saying no to the White House is not easy.
Don't say no, then.
I can't be effective here at Bringston
if I'm all the way in D.C.
focused on the VP's HBCU committee.
Well, I have my thoughts,
but for now, I'll keep them to myself.
Oh, how generous of you, Cam.
Mm-hmm. Ha ha ha!
[Cell phone vibrates]
Hi, sweetie.
Oh, don't "Hi, sweetie" me.
You know where you're supposed to be.
I have a good reason.
One that doesn't involve you
avoiding Coach Marcus still?
Simone, I am grown.
I'm not letting any one man's duplicitous ways
stop me from rooting for my Lions.
It's just giving Still mad
after all these months, Auntie.
It's giving I have actual, real
president business to attend to. [New email in inbox chime]
So, unfortunately, I'll miss the game.
What's going on? Is everything OK?
It will be.
Just some financial stuff brewing here.
Look. I have to get back to work. Love you.
Keisha: Oh, he's here.
He made it after all.
Did you know J.R. was coming?
No. but I'm glad he did.
Would've never forgiven himself in the long run
if he didn't come support his team.
[Exhales]
[Ball hits glove]
[Exhales]
[Sniffles]
[Cheering]
You're out.
[Cheering and applause]
Yes! Yes!
Damon: I'm so glad to see you, bro.
Hey, good to see you, too.
Yeah, man. You know I couldn't stay away,
but it look like y'all are feeling my absence.
I mean, yeah, we had a rough start.
Ha ha! You got it in you, man.
Pull it through. OK, yes, sir.
Marcus: All right, now. Butts back in the dugout now.
Let's go, let's go, let's go.
We got a game to finish, son.
Ahh.
So you just gonna stand there all day, huh,
or are you gonna come and join your team?
Are you for real, Coach?
I know you may have been on sick leave
for the past 8 months,
but once a Lion, always a Lion.
Ha ha! Heh.
Thanks, Coach.
Let's go.
Hey, y'all, listen up.
I didn't come back from the brink of death
just to watch y'all lose.
Come on. Lock in. Let's go!
Man: ♪ Somebody take my keys, I am too damn lit ♪
♪ I've been mixing in my system ♪
♪ Ever since I was a kid ♪
♪ They've been taking shots, yeah ♪
♪ But every time, they miss ♪
♪ No, I always roll the dice ♪
♪ I got a talent on my wrist ♪
♪ I'm on a real sick wave ♪
♪ I might go insane ♪
♪ Like in 2021, when I first got paid ♪
♪ Got some real day ones that I would not trade ♪
♪ If you ain't with the gang, you better stay up out my way ♪
Chorus: ♪ Go, go, go, go ♪
♪ All I want to do is rage ♪
♪ Go, go, go, go ♪
♪ Never gonna ever... ♪
♪ No, no, no, no ♪
[Cheering]
Man: ♪ Ever since the money came ♪
♪ I'm the man of the hour ♪
♪ Just took a champagne shower ♪
Strike 3. You're out.
Man: ♪ Got it snowing on the counter ♪
♪ I am in a black car ♪
♪ I am off the shifts ♪
♪ I forgot how to act once I got rich ♪
You're out.
Man: ♪ All I want to do is rage ♪
Chorus: ♪ Go, go, go, go ♪
♪ Never gonna ever... ♪
Announcer: What a comeback.
Bottom of the ninth, the game is tied.
This is Bringston's chance to win it all.
[Cheering and applause]
[Cheering]
Safe! Yes!
[Cheering and applause]
Damon: We what? B.U.!
We what? B.U.!
Whoo!
Damon: We what? Team: B.U.!
We what? B.U.!
Ha ha ha!
[Both laughing]
You did it.
This is the day you promised
you'd lead the team to when you first enrolled,
a day two years in the making.
Conference champs, baby.
Oh, my God. Baby,
I cannot believe that we did it.
I know.
Oh, I can't believe it.
Oh, conference champs, baby.
[Chuckles]
Ahh...
I meant to ask you, have you seen Coach Marcus?
No one's seen him since the last play.
He didn't even stay around to celebrate.
It may have to do with some news I just got.
What?
Apparently, Bringston is rebranding in some way.
So what does that have to do with Coach Marcus?
Well, they're moving money out of the athletic programs
into more academic endeavors.
I mean, haven't we been here before, babe?
Money issues, yeah, but the school doing
a full rebrand into a more elite academic institution,
that's some new ish, and the rumor via text:
they plan on cutting two full athletic programs.
Wait. Which two?
No one knows, but the A.D.s,
they left during the game.
Some big meeting's happening.
Babe, you don't need to worry. Obviously.
Y'all just won your championship.
Baseball's safe.
Yeah. You're right.
Hey, hey, I'm sure that tennis is fine, too.
I'm not.
Unlike you guys, we didn't win
our championship matches.
Damon, what if--
Don't. No. It is too soon to guess anything.
OK? Mm-hmm.
All right. Everything is gonna be OK, OK?
It has to be. Mm-hmm.
Marcus: Listen, Amara,
the student athletes are the ones
that is gonna suffer here, OK?
With the programs being cut,
what happens to the athletes on scholarship?
As you heard in the meeting,
if the athlete meets the GPA requirements
for an academic scholarship, they'll honor that,
and as the president of this institution,
I plan on holding them to that.
Are you really using your president tone on me?
What other tone would you have me use, Coach Turner?
Amara, listen.
I know things are still unsettled with us.
If you have any further questions
about this institutional rebrand
and the fallout to athletics,
I suggest you talk to the trustees.
I have no idea which programs will be cut,
as they've been keeping me in the dark
on this particular endeavor,
a tactic you're very familiar with.
Are the rumors true?
I'm hearing you're being courted
by the vice president to join
the White House HBCU Committee.
What happens in my life outside these Bringston walls
is none of your business anymore.
Oh, my God. How many times
I got to tell you I'm sorry, OK?
I'm sorry about Crystal.
Oh, you mean Crystal--your wife.
Ex-wife, who I didn't know
was still my wife until a year ago,
when she asked for a divorce
because she wanted to marry some dude.
Look. It was finalized last month, by the way,
the divorce.
The whole ordeal is finally over.
It's been over for me for a while, Coach Turner,
and the status of your divorce
is none of my concern.
Look. You have to believe me, Amara.
I didn't know the paperwork Crystal and I
filed years ago wasn't fully signed.
Crystal conveniently said nothing
until it was time for her to ask for this divorce,
and, quite frankly, I still think
she's keeping secrets because--
Enough, Marcus.
It's been a damn year of us doing this dance,
and you still don't get it.
I'm not walking away from you
because you got married during a crazy period
after your pro baseball life.
I'm walking because you kept that secret from me.
Because I didn't want it to taint us.
I'm sorry.
Yeah? Well, so am I.
Damon: Um, OK.
What if we organize a sit-in at the tennis courts?
We all join in in solidarity.
As the new conference champs, maybe we'll draw some attention.
Keisha: But it's not just the girls' tennis team.
I'm hearing that the women's lacrosse team
is also on the short list.
Simone: Of course, because women's sports
are always the target.
Santiago: Call me crazy,
but I don't see them cutting you guys.
Coco Gauff literally put you all on the map
after the whole illegal bus search.
Yo, Santiago's right.
Look. I think y'all gonna be straight.
Santiago is right.
People only took us seriously
about that cop stop after we took
our power back in the media.
That's what we need to do again.
We need to get the media and the public aware
of what's happening to athletics at Bringston.
Loni: That's the last thing you should do.
Uh, Coach Loni, how did the meeting go?
Did they make a decision?
Not yet, or at least not that they're sharing,
which is why you need to leave it alone
and let us grownups handle it.
Coach Loni, this is my future.
Mine, too, Simone, but the last thing
we need to do is anger them
and give them an excuse
to put a target on our backs.
Leave it alone.
Ooh, excuse me.
Where did you disappear to after the game?
Oh, I was texting you.
I had to take care of a few things.
OK. Well, I'm gonna act like I'm not offended
by you coming to visit somebody else
before you coming to see me.
I was actually checking out a dorm room.
I need a place to live
when I come back full-time in the fall.
I'm so glad you are finally fully recovered
from aplastic anemia's bitch ass.
Well, I wish you would've told me
you were planning on going to the game after all.
I would have waited, and I would have gone with you.
Oh, thanks, but it was a last-minute call.
I wasn't sure I'd be emotionally
strong enough to watch the team
live out my baseball dreams without me.
Turns out, I was.
Oh, and who's surprised?
J.R., you're the strongest person I know.
You are. Heh.
You got time?
You want to go and grab something to eat?
Not you trying to ruin my dancer body or whatever,
but, yes, I am hungry.
All right. Let's go.
You paying for it, though.
Uh, sorry to interrupt.
It's fine. Keep trying to reach him.
Hey, make sure Dr. P. eats or at least hydrates.
I haven't seen her do either one of those things yet today.
Ma'am... humor us, please.
Auntie, this rebranding nonsense--
It's not nonsense, baby.
Bringston wants to be known for exporting
Black excellence in academics,
as opposed to just athletics...
But we do.
Not on the Harvard level.
Well, why are we trying to compete
with Harvard, though?
Why can't we just be us?
Isn't that the reason HBCUs were created?
We are definitely cut from the same cloth
because that's exactly what I said
in the meeting earlier. Fell on deaf ears,
and it's probably why they didn't tell me
about this move in advance.
Wait. How is that possible?
You're the president.
Apparently, they consider it
more of a figurehead position than I realized.
So then that's it?
They can cut tennis or lacrosse
or whatever female sports they want,
and there's nothing we can do?
I didn't say that. And we don't know
that tennis will be one of the teams cut.
I just--I need time to figure out
how to make them see reason.
Well, Auntie, unfortunately, time
is the one thing we don't have.
Nate. Hmm? Hey.
Hey, I need your boyfriend.
Too bad. He's all mine.
Nate, I am very serious.
I need Ryan to write an article
about the changes happening at Bringston.
He already is.
OK. Well, even better,
but I bet he could use an on-the-record source.
We need this to go viral and fast.
Hold up. Isn't this exactly
what Coach Loni asked you not to do?
Well, someone has to do something.
They're cutting important programs
not because they don't have the money,
but simply because someone decided to reroute the money.
They're pitting academics and athletics
against each other, and it's not fair.
Simone, you don't actually know what's gonna happen,
so why not wait a beat?
No. I'm done waiting. I'm calling Ryan
and telling him he has a source.
Are you giving me his number?
Boy...
Cam, if I fall, I am taking you down with me.
Hey, you can't blame a man for holding on.
You know, you were a hard woman to find yesterday.
I know. My bad.
Between Simone freaking out about tennis
and J.R.'s first week back,
I have majorly been in my supportive friend bag.
Speaking of which,
looks like Simone and Ryan's article
made quite a splash this morning.
It's already gone viral.
Yeah. The question is,
how's it gonna go down with the trustees?
Mm-hmm. There he is, my boy.
Heard you were back on campus.
Man, Mr. Songwriting Extraordinaire.
Ah...
Hey, I heard that new songwriting gig
with the label's been working out.
I mean, we'll see, but, you know, so far, so good.
This is actually perfect.
I got to run to rehearsal, so y'all catch up.
Bye. Really?
Bye. See y'all later.
Hey, congrats on your recovery, bro...
Man, thank you.
you know, for the second time.
Hey, I couldn't have done it by myself.
Can't thank Keisha enough.
Trust, no one's more excited than me
that her months of sacrifice weren't for nothing.
Months?
What you mean, months?
Nate: Ohh...God.
Uh-uh.
Dear God, Simone.
OK. Enough with the drama.
It's just an article.
Just-- Nate, I do--
[Knock on door]
Hey.
Hey, babe.
Perfect timing.
Can you please talk to your girl?
And say what?
Nate, I stand by her
and however she wants to fight.
So this is how you would handle things
if it was happening to the baseball team,
just put the entire institution
on blast publicly?
Yeah. Damon, I don't recall you doing that
when they tried to take y'all's funding freshman year.
Simone is her own person, all right,
and this is happening to her,
so my job right now is to support her...
and that's it.
Thank you, baby.
OK. Y'all are cute or whatever,
but none of this changes the fact
that things are about to get messy
online and in our boardrooms.
[Cell phone chimes]
It's fine. It'll be OK.
Hmm.
Ohh...
Coach Loni wants to see me...now.
Loni: So my directions mean nothing to you?
I meant no disrespect. I just--
You just thought you knew better.
Well, congrats.
You wanted to force the school's hand,
and you did.
For better or for worse?
Depends on who you ask.
The girls' tennis team got a stay of execution,
in part due to the article,
but I'm sure it had much more to do
with the letter and generous funding pledge
they received from Coco Gauff this morning.
Are you serious?
Oh, my God. Thank you.
Oh, thank you. Oh!
Why don't you look happy, though?
Because my colleagues are hurting.
Two other programs did get cut,
and word is just getting out now.
[Scoffs]
The hell you mean, baseball's been cut?
Yo, we're the champs.
We're the freaking champs, Coach.
Calm down. We did everything.
He was out here busting our asses.
Coach, why us? How, man?
I mean, we--
Coach, I'm only a sophomore.
I'm not even eligible to draft into the MLB yet.
I need one more year.
I know, Damon. Listen,
I'mma figure things out.
Trust me, I'mma figure it out, OK?
So what does it mean? What does it mean, OK?
Does it mean that I can't stay at Bringston
and pursue my MLB dream?
You're telling me that I'mma have to leave?
[Scoffs]
Damon, I'm so sorry.
Simone, I can't. Not now.
I didn't think saving tennis would be at your expense.
I don't even know how this is happening.
Why couldn't you just listen to Coach Loni, anybody?
Why did you have to poke the damn bear?
[Sighs]
[Door opens]
[Door closes]
Look. We're all making calls, OK--
me, Coach Marcus, your mom,
even Dr. Patterson.
You'll land somewhere. There's time.
J.R.: Look. The transfer portal doesn't even
open up till another couple months.
I already used the portal, bro.
Hawkins, remember? Come on.
They're not gonna let me use it again
without having to redshirt a year.
We'll get around that.
You're a D1 recruit and an MLB prospect.
People will want you.
Well, yeah, not if they can't play me.
I spoke with Coach Shaw
less than an hour ago myself.
You know he left Hawkins; he's the new A.C.
at Crestwick University, right?
Well, he wants you and plans to get you
an offer as soon as that window opens.
Come on.
What, you're telling me that my only options
are to play for the devil himself at a PWI?
Damn, bro. How selfish are you?
You are shooting down every idea before it fully forms.
At least you could still play, Damon.
I am-- I am so sorry.
Look, I didn't even think about it.
I know that this can't be easy for you, either.
It's just, everything is just so--
It's messed up right now.
Something is better than nothing.
You know he didn't mean it, right? Come on.
Haven't you ever said anything out of pain
and then regretted it later?
Keisha, you didn't see the way he looked at me.
There must be something I can do
to help save baseball, right?
A fundraiser maybe, or I could hit up Coco,
and maybe she'd up her pledge.
Girl, she won the U.S. Open,
not the Powerball.
You know you don't have to fix everything.
Sometimes the best reaction
is to just be still.
[Knock on door]
[Exhales]
It's open.
Hey.
Looks like I found the party.
You good?
Yeah. I was actually just looking for Keisha.
Y'all stay. I need to take a walk.
Glad you found me.
I've been worried about you
with this axing of the baseball program thing.
No need to worry.
Baseball was already a wrap for me,
and that's not what I'm here to talk about.
Oh. Then what's wrong?
Why didn't you tell me you had major side effects
from being my bone marrow donor last fall?
Oh, great.
Well, who ran their mouth?
Point is, why didn't you tell me?
You already had enough on your plate
focusing on your own recovery.
OK, and you think that'd be more important to me
than knowing what was supposed to be
a quick 7-day procedure for you
turned into several months of pain?
Yes, because it is.
Your recovery was life or death.
Mine was just discomfort. There's no comparison.
So you speak for me now?
Are you serious?
You're not even really mad at me.
You're just upset because you've lost baseball,
and you're taking it out on me.
No. That's not even it.
Well, maybe.
I don't know.
For the record,
yes, I lost some time in the fall
and it set me back with dancing,
but I'm completely fine now, healthy.
I got back to dance.
I fought for what I love, and I won,
and I would do it again if I had to
because your life is worth it.
I'm sorry you had to go through that.
Oh, that's OK.
I don't know why I'm grieving
over a sport I already lost.
Because until today, you hadn't really lost it.
It was still out there if you ever
got healthy enough to play again,
but the trustees took that away from you.
It's OK to grieve that.
[Knock on door]
The way I don't have time for you right now--
Wait, OK? I'm not here about us.
It's the team. I messed up, Amara.
I need some advice.
Come in.
Damon: You asked to see me, Coach?
I did, I did. We need to talk.
[Exhales]
Is this about Coach Shaw
giving me that offer to Crestwick?
No, son. Look,
I'm just gonna come out and say it.
I've known this baseball team
was on borrowed time since your freshman year.
Uh, heh.
I don't understand.
It was always us that was gonna be cut this year.
I didn't want to tell you all before the big game
because I wanted you all to have that moment,
have that championship game without this loss
in y'all's hearts and minds.
What you're saying right now,
it makes no damn sense.
OK. Your freshman year, when the trustees
was planning on pulling the funding
from the baseball program, remember that?
Yeah, but, I mean, you
and President Allen, y'all stopped it.
We stopped it.
We were supposed to become
a championship-worthy team before the season started,
and, Coach, we did that.
We did that by beating Coach Shaw
and Hawkins Georgia.
Yes, we beat Hawkins
and got to hold on to our funding,
but it was always temporary, Damon.
When the trustees made the deal with me
and President Allen, they made it clear then
that we were only staving off the inevitable
for a couple years, son.
I don't believe you.
Look, I didn't actually think they would go through with it,
Damon, not if we became actual champions,
so I took the deal, confident that
within two years, we'd be those champions
and any plans to defund us would quickly be discarded.
We are champions, damn it!
Come on, man. We are.
We did that yesterday,
so why are we still being cut, Coach?
Because I was wrong.
I was wrong, and I couldn't have anticipated
the rebrand and pivot Bringston would make.
They're adamant that they want their legacy to be
more about graduating the next great scientist.
Forget all Bringston's betrayal.
What about yours? Come on.
You knew this entire time that there was a chance
that this could happen, and what'd you do?
You stayed quiet?
Damon, I'm so sorry.
You risked all of our futures.
Look, I tried to protect you boys, man,
protect the program, son,
and if it wasn't for the rebranding,
my gamble would have paid off.
Santiago: Damon, what's going on?
[Scoffs]
How about you tell them, Coach?
Tell them how you gambled away all our lives.
Still no sign of him?
I checked all his usual spots. Nada.
He hasn't returned my calls or Simone's.
This can't wait. We need to--
Damon, where you been?
Look, I'm just trying to see Dr. P.
so I can get my transcripts, all right?
We got an offer.
Details are still being worked out,
but a deal seems likely.
Cam: Well, that's great. What college?
A chance to play pro.
Wait. How's that possible?
I'm not eligible.
What if you were?
You ready for the big leagues now,
play against the best,
sharpen your iron against iron?
I'm listening.
Marcus: I hear you changed your mind
and accepted the White House appointment.
Those rumor mills stay busy, don't they?
Amara, don't leave Bringston, OK?
Forget about our personal history.
This place needs you. These kids need you.
Oh, I'm not leaving Bringston, Marcus.
Never that.
But this whole rebranding mess
did make me realize the only way for me
to truly be an effective president here
with real power is to make myself
very publicly undeniable.
And this White House appointment
will do just that.
Exactly.
I can juggle both my job and the appointment.
I am a Black woman, after all.
It just means a lot of traveling
back and forth to D.C., which,
quite frankly, is a good thing
because the thing I think you and I need
more than anything is distance.
Hey.
Look...
I am so sorry that I didn't handle
none of this well.
No. You took space
instead of taking your anger out on me.
I'd say you handled things better than most.
Look, babe,
I need to tell you something,
like, really important.
Me first, please. Uh...
Please?
OK.
I know what losing baseball means.
I know you'll have to leave Bringston
because, obviously, giving up your dream
is not an option,
and I want those dreams for you, too...
Simone, look...
and I know it all seems hopeless,
but, babe, I promise,
you will get an offer to another D1 program--
I know it--and I don't care where it is.
I will fly to any corner of this country
to watch you play.
Simone,
I'm going pro, babe.
What?
Yeah.
How?
There's this private club team that's interested.
I would go play for them, I would kick ass,
then I get my contract bought out
by a pro MLB team in a year,
when I'm league-eligible.
That is amazing,
so, like, this is really a thing?
The offer, like, just came in.
Babe, that is-- ha ha!
Oh, my God. I'm so happy for you.
I mean, it might be a lot to hope
and wish and pray that this team is in Georgia,
but, babe, like I said, I'mma fly anywhere.
Even in the D.R.?
Simone, my offer to play
is in the Dominican Republic.
Heh. Heh.
TheHonestGuy: ♪ Was it last September ♪
♪ When I met you? ♪
♪ I cannot remember... ♪
[Tapping]
My bad, y'all. If I may...to Damon.
You know, when we first met,
I couldn't stand your ass.
Nate: Oh, oh, oh. I thought the roasting part
was happening later this evening.
If we're doing it now-- Stop.
Well, if big mouth over there would let me finish--
I'm quiet. I'm quiet.
J.R.: I wouldn't be quiet.
Now, I couldn't stand your ass,
but little did I know you quickly become my brother.
I'll miss you, bro. We all will.
Damon: Man, I appreciate you, brother,
and the feeling is definitely mutual.
I couldn't stand your ass at first, anyway.
Ha ha ha! Cheers.
The D.R., baby. D.R., man.
Keisha: So when Cam and I come visit,
you're giving us the 5-star treatment, right?
I'm talking all-inclusive resorts,
spa treatments, massages.
Honey, he got money.
J.R.: I'm trying to figure out how y'all claiming dibs
on a trip, and I'm his brother.
Jessie: And I'm his father, so...
Thanks for planning
this whole family dinner tonight.
For real.
You deserve it.
We're all really proud of you.
[Knock on door]
Are we expecting anyone else?
Thea. Hi.
I thought you had a match in North Carolina.
I mean, yeah, but y'all
didn't really expect a pro tournament
to keep me from saying good-bye
to my favorite pitcher, did you?
Miss Thea...
What's up, girl?
[Music playing]
Keisha: I would say, "Penny for your thoughts,"
but I know you bougie, so I will offer you 50.
I think I'm gonna fight for it.
Well, I know I'm gonna fight for it.
What's "it"? Baseball?
Yeah.
I'm gonna bring baseball back to Bringston,
however long it takes.
But didn't Coach Marcus say it was a done deal
and that it couldn't be reversed?
Where there's a will, there's a way, right?
You taught me that.
Ain't that how you fought your way back to dance?
I guess so. OK. OK, J.R.
I see you. I see you.
Now, I don't know the way yet,
but I know it starts with me being
healthy enough to not only play
but to lead this team,
and that's exactly what I'm gonna do.
Yo. Heh!
Thank you.
Man. One thing
I'm not gonna miss is doing these dishes
at the end of a big family dinner.
Yeah. No lies told, man.
Man.
It's like I just found my brother,
and now I'm losing him again.
Come on, man.
Losing me is not possible.
Bro, we will always have each other's back,
no matter where we are in the world, all right?
Yeah. All right?
Yeah, man. I love you, man.
I love you, too.
Look at my boys, walking definitions
of never count a brother out.
I'm proud of both of you.
Thanks, Pops.
Yeah, and thanks for coming in clutch
with the offer from the D.R. team.
Actually, I didn't.
Marcus did.
He came up with the idea, and he had the connect
through an old teammate in the pros.
He was worried you wouldn't take it
if you knew he hooked it up,
so he asked me to bring it to you,
but I think you deserve to know
when you still got angels on your shoulder
looking out for you.
Uh, can y'all excuse me?
Jessie: Yeah.
Something I got to do.
[Exhales]
Owe you an apology.
As do I.
Nah. Look, Coach. I--I get it now.
You did what you thought was right.
Ain't no way you could have known
that Bringston would have tried
to become the next Harvard.
I was wrong making you feel
like it was your fault.
You honored what I said I wanted
when we first stepped foot on this field.
You taught me integrity.
Hell, you helped me
find my love for baseball again,
find my dream again.
Man, that meant everything to me.
I know a lot of the guys are transferring,
but can you keep an extra eye on J.R. for me?
Of course I will.
I already made sure his scholarship
will be converted over to an academic one.
Hmm.
Well, thanks, Coach Marcus Turner.
Ha ha ha!
Not my full government name, man.
No. For real...
ohh...
thank you for everything that you've done
for me in this last two years,
not only being my coach
but my surrogate father, too.
[Exhales]
So what are you gonna do now without me
as a son around giving you all them gray hairs?
[Both laugh]
I don't know,
but, see, that's the funny thing about God.
He's always got a plan.
Simone Hicks.
Ha ha ha! Hi.
Hey.
What are you doing here?
Remember when we first said bye to each other
in front of this portrait?
Uh, yeah,
the homecoming weekend we first met.
Mm-hmm.
We had no idea if or when
we'd see each other again,
but we knew our futures were very bright.
Whoa. Hey, hey, hey...
this isn't good-bye, Simone.
Isn't it, though?
It's only, like, a 3-hour flight, babe.
OK. Yeah, yeah.
My initial training schedule's gonna be crazy,
but in between games and all that,
we can, like, visit back and forth, and we--
Why are you looking at me like that?
Oh, no, no, no. We can make this work.
Damon, we could,
but at what cost to you?
Everyone said it at dinner.
This is an opportunity of a lifetime,
and I cannot let you risk that
by trying to make us work.
You need to be locked in.
Give pro baseball your everything...
and I need to do the same here at Bringston.
Do you love me?
You know I do.
OK. Then I'm not giving up on us.
I will fight you on this.
Yeah, because you're stubborn enough to do it,
but that doesn't change the fact
that you know I'm right.
Come here.
Haven't had enough time.
Nowhere near enough.
[Inhales]
Uh... It's just for now.
Who knows what the future holds, right?
It's still unwritten...
Yeah. OK?
Yeah. Heh.
Keisha: Ha ha! Aah!
Both: What's up, roomie?
God. I'm so glad you guys are here.
Where else would we be?
Nathaniel: Look. I know this year
isn't starting off the way that you planned...
Damon's gone,
and Dr. P. is living her best
President Barbie life in the White House,
so she's around less.
Nathaniel: but this is the start of your junior year
And our senior year.
Nathaniel: and we're declaring that this is
going to be the best year yet,
no matter what gets thrown at us.
And that's on, period.
Jamie Wendt: ♪ Just feels good ♪
Well, damn. Let's just get it started, then.
Nate: Yeah!
Wendt: ♪ Just feels good ♪
Greg, move your head.