Original subtitles

Previously on Necessary Roughness:

- Kojo Liberty. - There's no bigger legend.

I did this to myself. Don't let this happen to you.

Rex Evans is the quarterback.

I worked my ass off, and will barely throw me the rock.

I don't like you. You're not the player you used to be.

What would you like to explain? That you cheated on Dad?

- I was in love with Eddie Marconi. - How could you?

- You want kids, right? - Definitely, but you're done.

I hoped you were gonna change your mind.

This isn't gonna work.

- I love you. - I love you too.

All right, trips right 5-6-8, puma ram 9, on 1. Ready?

- Break. - Fourth and 10.

New York on the Denver 42.

Well, first down here gives the Hawks a shot at a field goal.

Anything else, stick a fork in them. They're done.

Left! Left! 100!

Check the edge!

In sports, as in life, we sometimes have regrets,

- things we wished we'd done... - Set, hut.

Evans drops back looking to pass.

Kittridge breaks away. He's wide open.

Picked off. Can you believe it? Interception by Denver. Game over.

And things we wish we could take back.

The question is, which is worse,

regretting what you did or what you didn't do?

And that's a memorable end to a game

that Rex Evans would soon like to forget.

I can't just forget what she said.

My mother had an affair

with a man that she described as the love of her life.

Ain't nothing forgettable about that,

hard as I try to erase that image from my brain.

Oh, really? That's what you think you should do?

- Just erase things that upset you? - No. I'm not upset. I'm confused.

Must I probe? You are confused about--

About whether or not she did the right thing by staying with my father

even though she loved Eddie Marconi.

When I suggested that she look him up,

she wasn't even remotely interested.

- But you are. - The guy was the love of her life.

I cannot imagine not wanting to find out

what happened to the love of my life.

When I was told the Hawks were on the block, I figured score.

A player like you, Mr. Theismann.

Scoring is something the Hawks can certainly use on the field.

My days of running the two-minute drill are long over,

but being part of an ownership group,

- it's always been a dream of mine. - Mr. Theismann--

Please, just Joe. Joe is fine.

Joe. Devin and I will represent Ms. Pittman's interests in this deal.

When you've had time to look over the financials

we'd be happy to take an offer to her.

Our group has looked over the financials.

We want to talk about the stadium.

- What about it? - Jared.

Buried on page 76 is a series of transactions

where the Hawks Stadium, parking lot and practice facilities

have been sold off to undisclosed third parties.

- Since when? - Now, that's a very good question,

but, gentlemen, owning the Hawks and not being able to control

where they play their games...

- doesn't interest us. - Of course. Understood.

We will find out all the information that you need.

That would be a good thing.

On your move.

I lost two-tenths of a second.

Two-tenths doesn't sound so bad.

On the field, it's the difference between mediocrity and greatness.

And potentially, the end of my career.

- Is that why you got drunk? - Sorority girls get drunk. I got faded.

Which I'm not proud of.

Sobriety is war, Terrence.

And you can't win any wars without losing some battles.

You also can't win a war... alone.

Talking about the sponsor thing.

Yes, I am.

Okay. I pick you.

Your sponsor has to be in the program.

What if I take you to dinner and get you trashed?

No.

What if I take the kids to Disney World?

Spa day? Get you a mani-padi.

I think you mean mani-pedi and no.

Fine.

I'll go sponsor shopping.

- Rex Evans. - Quarterback. Yes, I'm familiar

- and TK's attempted bromance. - The guy mostly keeps to himself.

Not a big partier, never been a problem.

On the field, always been really solid and then suddenly

the past two weeks, he's reckless, missing simple reads

throwing interceptions and then...

It's like he's turned into Dr. Hyde.

Oh, it's Mr. Hyde. Jekyll's the doctor.

- Well, I'll send them both your way. - Okay.

- Hey. Thank you for coming in. - No, thank you.

- Hey, stranger. - Noelle.

- Dr. Santino. - Hey.

It's been a while.

I was in the UK doing a soccer puff piece. Now I'm not.

Oh, I-- Oh, it's my sister. I totally have to get this,

but it was so nice to see the both of you.

So how have you been?

Hey, Ronnie. What's up? What? Oh, my God. I'll be right there.

Everything okay, Dan?

My mother... just had a heart attack.

Hey. How's Grandma? What happened?

She's okay, honey. They put a stent in.

That should bring the blood flow back to the heart or something like that.

Are you all right?

Yeah. It was just a scare.

- Have you talked to Ray Jay? - Yeah, he's with Dad.

They'll stop by the hospital tomorrow morning.

Okay, good.

Hey, you okay?

You just never really think about people dying, but they do.

Yep.

Eventually,

but not today. Come here.

I would be so fricking honored to be your sponsor, TK.

- So fricking honored. - Yeah. Well, calm down.

- No choice is made yet. - No, you can make that choice.

You can count on me, I am a huge fan.

I mean, fricking huge. Look, I even bleed Hawks red.

Well, we all bleed red. Kind of a human thing, man.

The point is, you can always count on me, okay?

Day, night or in between. I'll just watch my phone until it rings.

You know what they say about a watched phone? It never rings.

Oh, speaking of which.

Oh, Dalai Lama. Got to take this.

- What's up, D.L.? How you doing? - Hey, what are we doing after this?

You're perfect for me and, you know,

the good thing about me for you is that I'm easy.

No, no, no. Not like that easy,

but like, you know, Easy-Bake Oven cupcake easy.

Right. Well, TK, look.

You may be everything you say, but I still can't be your sponsor.

My dance card's full and I'm a woman.

It works better when sponsors are the same sex.

You gonna say no to all this? What does it matter?

She-male, he-male, female. I don't look at sponsors as sex.

I look at sex for sex. I'm not sexist.

Excuse me, Tawny, is this guy bothering you?

Because some men just can't take a hint.

You know Kojo Liberty? What are you doing here, man?

The man, the myth, the legend. Two-time MVP.

- What you doing here? - Same thing as you,

- walking the straight and narrow. - You're sober now?

Last drink I had was in South Beach and you know how that ended.

Yes. It's good to see you back on your feet. You know, not covered in puke.

- Not one of my better days. - Yeah, we've all had them.

Wish I had met you last month.

- You sponsor shopping? - Yes.

It's kind of like speed dating, except slower and less sexy.

Come on. Let me get you something to eat.

Look, doc, I'm a man of few words.

Where I'm from, people don't speak unless they got something to say.

Why don't you tell me about what happened yesterday.

I had a bad game. Bad couple of games, really,

and when my play's not tight, I get tripped out.

And then you get thrown out.

I had early dinner reservations.

Well, based on your last few games and your most recent penalty,

management thought that maybe there were some things

that you would like to talk about privately.

I've been in the league seven years. Never once been a problem child.

I step out of line one inch and all eyes are on me.

Sometimes what happens off the field affects what happens on the field,

so is there anything going on at home?

My mama complains I don't visit enough.

Married? Or dating?

No and yes.

Anybody in particular?

This one girl. Been giving me static.

Static. What kind of static?

I'm giving everything I can and it's not enough.

Does she have a name?

A name? You're kidding me, right?

My girlfriend's name is why I'm here? Look, I cost my team a win.

I gotta live with that, but I shouldn't have to sit here

talking to a complete stranger about my personal life

when it has nothing to do with anything.

- We done? - Nah. I think that we're just beginning.

Fifty-seven is up, 57.

Then my boy flatlined in the bathroom. I knew that was the end of the line.

You know, I couldn't keep doing the same thing.

And expecting a different result.

Right. I gotta find somebody who understands where I'm coming from,

who understands my lifestyle.

Somebody like you, Kojo.

I just made it through my own 12 steps.

- I've never sponsored anybody before. - I've never been a sponsee.

We can lose our sponsor virginity, you know, so to speak.

- I don't think I'm your guy. - I think you're perfect.

I mean, think of the symbolism, the guy that made me wanna play ball

can also be the guy that makes me wanna keep clean.

Only you can make you wanna stay clean.

Now, the sponsor's there when you get into a jam.

My whole life's a jam.

You know, I just need a brother to help me get that giddyap back, you know?

All right. Look. One condition, you're ready to try some new things.

Meet me here at 4 p.m. tomorrow...

and be prepared to sweat.

Go back. You're in a fantasy football league?

Seven guys from work. Wiped the floor with them two of the last four years.

Impressive.

Growing up with four brothers made me two things:

a sports junkie and super competitive.

Speaking of the number four,

I believe that's how many dates we went on before you stopped calling.

- Why'd you deactivate me? - Come on. It wasn't quite like that.

- We were both pretty busy. - I thought we had a good time.

Then two months of radio silence. What happened?

I got the feeling you weren't interested in anything more.

Than a good time.

And I got the feeling you didn't want anything more.

Right.

You were wrong about me.

Was I wrong about you?

So Pittman covertly sold off valuable pieces of the Hawks franchise

to three anonymous buyers for 50 cents on the dollar.

Kept me completely out of the loop.

Hired another lawyer to broker the deal.

It's unclear whether he was trying to raise some quick cash

to pay off Gabrielle or the bank forced his hand,

- but the result's the same. - The Hawks don't own the stadium.

Right.

Without a venue, no one's gonna buy this team.

Marshall's final, "Screw you." Find out who owns these assets.

Figure out how much it's gonna cost to get them back.

- Nico. - Doctor.

- Can I ask you a favor? - Can I say no?

I want you to look into somebody for me.

You want me to put a tail on Noelle?

No.

I would like you to find a man by the name of Eddie Marconi.

- I'm glad we did this. - Me too. It was fun. Let's do it again.

- How about Friday? - Good.

- You play pool? - I'm smelling a hustle.

- Okay, I don't suck at pool. - Great.

Hey, not to mix business with pleasure, but I gotta ask.

Okay.

- What's going on with Rex Evans? - Bad couple of games.

- Bad temper. - We're dealing with it.

- Are you dealing with anything else? - Like what?

- Your Pittman problem. - What problem is that?

Rumor is someone's holding the team hostage. It's unsellable.

Okay, here we go. Here we go.

Looking at our full wide receiver package, our 6-9-7 ZX curl,

Toes is the hot, TK is the second option.

Same in our eagle right 49 double razor.

Toes is the hot, TK's the second option.

Now, as long as our linemen can give Rex three good seconds on the line,

I'm sure Toes can shake loose.

That's more than enough time.

"It's more than enough time, coach." Just call the whole damn offense.

"Toes is hot and TK's a little bitch."

And on all pro sets against cover two, Toes is the hot.

- Why the hell didn't you tell me? - We don't have all the facts.

We don't own the stadium and don't own the building

that we're standing in. Those are facts. You know those.

It appears there are shell corporations.

We're gonna find out who's behind it and try to broker a deal.

All right, whoever does own them now has us over a barrel.

So we gotta go out and try to reacquire them for 150 cents on the dollar

or whatever it takes, because no one

is gonna buy this franchise without all the pieces.

Look, at the moment, I'm the closest thing to a GM

that we've got, so I'd appreciate it if you'd keep me in the loop

- so I don't look like an idiot. - An idiot with who?

- Yikes. Is this a bad time? - Hey, how's your mom?

She's kicking and screaming. She had a minor heart blockage, but she's okay.

Speaking of kicking and screaming,

Rex Evans didn't make it to his second appointment.

Really?

Well, management is mandating it. It's not his call.

Rex, can I talk to you for a second?

I have some information on your mother's friend.

Really? Do tell.

There are 3 Eddie Marconis fitting that description.

All from Commack. I got my guy.

He'll get me details, I'll get something to you shortly.

Okay.

And I'm telling you it's a waste of my time.

- Stay out of my business, Matt! - Rex, do not walk away from me.

Fine! Here I am!

I'd think twice before going down this road.

He will be at his next therapy session.

- What the hell? - An urn.

Your mother sent you an urn with two leaping dolphins.

And the following note.

"Danielle, enclosed you will find my final resting place.

- You should have it, just in case." - Has she taken a turn for the worse?

No. My mother expects me to keep her ashes on my fireplace.

For six months out of the year. The other six months

it goes to my sister. So that no one can cry "No Fairsies."

She wants you two to stay connected after she's gone, so I can respect that.

Yeah, you're not gonna respect this.

I asked my friend Nico to find Eddie Marconi.

- Your mother's lover. - No, no.

Something about that is very hard to process,

but, yeah, my mother's former love.

Oh, and I take it your mother is excited about this, about meeting her lover.

God. She might be. Except that I didn't tell her.

Okay, I thought that she would fight me on it,

but I know that if I find him, she is gonna be thrilled.

And you know this because...

I don't know it. I don't know that at all, actually,

but what I do know...

is that happiness is fleeting and we don't live forever.

And maybe the heart episode... is a wake-up call.

Yeah. For her or for you?

Battement, battement. Grand battement and plié.

Battement, battement. Grand battement.

You know, when you said, "Be prepared to sweat,"

you know, I thought you meant, like... I didn't know what you meant,

but I sure as hell didn't think you meant ballet.

Oh, so it's good enough for Lynn Swann, Jerry Rice,

all the greats, but it ain't good enough for Terrence King?

- I'm not as-- - Good position with the feet.

More turnout with the thighs and less with the mouth.

Good. Tendu to the left.

Okay, tendu and plié.

So, what am I supposed to get out of this?

Lynn Swann said it made him more limber, more agile,

added a bunch of years onto his career.

Hell, it added about three years onto mine.

You came to ballet often?

How do you think I got these sexy-ass legs, man?

- Do I get my own tutu? - Man's got to earn his own tutu.

You almost came to blows with the assistant GM.

What got you so angry?

I just wanna play football and be left alone.

It seems like your anger is making that difficult.

You mentioned something about stress with your girlfriend.

The team can make me come here, but they can't make me talk to you.

I don't have to tell you a damn thing about my life.

This is an invasion of privacy.

You're a complete stranger. Why should I tell you my problems?

Because you will feel better if you talk about what's going on.

Nothing's going on.

Your body language tells a different story.

- What's her name? - Who?

Your girlfriend.

Susan, all right? Her name's Susan.

And how long have you and Susan been together?

What has this got to do with football?

When someone's game is off, it's always personal.

Especially someone like you, who's always been so consistent on the field.

A couple of-- We've been together a few years.

How does Susan feel when you date other women?

I don't.

I've seen all these photos of you at events with lots of other women.

So how does Susan--

You fishing for dirty little secrets, doc?

Why are you so interested in my girlfriend?

Because it's the one thing that you won't talk about.

Rex.

There is no Susan. Is there?

Everything I say to you is confidential, right?

From Matt, from the team, everybody?

Yes. Of course.

Jim.

My partner.

His name is Jim.

Jimmy and I have been together three years.

He has his own software business. Traveled a lot until recently.

It suited our lives.

Now he's been spending most of his time in New York.

He wants us to move in together.

What would be the problem with that?

My family doesn't know and there are no active gay football players, not one.

Or in any major sport, for that matter, and I ain't about to be the first.

And yet leading a double life is taking its toll on and off the field.

I know. I know. I know.

Jimmy's laid down an ultimatum. I come out of the closet or he's gone.

The first gay professional football player?

And a quarterback to boot?

Do you have any idea what kind of a story that would turn into?

It would be a media circus way bigger than Tebow

or anything else in recent memory.

It would turn everyone's life upside down.

I don't wanna be Jackie Robinson. I just wanna play ball.

But...

I don't wanna lose him.

How would you feel about bringing Jim in for a session?

Nico. What do you know?

- About? - The sale.

- Anything else I might find of interest? - It's gonna rain on Tuesday.

Hey, this franchise needs a do-over. You get that, right?

And the only way that's gonna happen is if we sell and a big fat rumor

on SportsCom3 saying we can't sell, not gonna help us.

I have a meeting with a reporter. Give me something I can tell her.

- Who, me? - Hi.

Excuse me. Hello?

- How's your mother? - Not in an urn yet.

I'm kidding. She's doing very well. Thank you for asking.

That's good because I've got some news for her.

About Eddie.

I can't believe that Ed Marconi is dead.

Apparently, last year. Cancer. Left two kids, five grandkids.

What are you gonna tell her?

Nothing.

Isn't she gonna wonder what your search amounted to?

Not so much.

Your mother didn't know you were doing this.

It's interesting.

You sound like my therapist.

You're in therapy?

Aren't you?

I kid.

So you went on a search for your mother's old flame because...

Do you ever have any regrets about Gabrielle?

Sometimes.

But that ship sailed a long time ago.

How do you know when a ship has sailed?

When it's so far out to sea, you would drown trying to catch up to it.

I knew it. I knew it. You're a shark.

Not a shark, more like a dolphin with attitude.

I know I'm not betting more money.

Well, we could abandon pool for the Ms. Pacman in the back.

I did have the high score at Randazzo's

back in Roanoke for three years.

Basketball is the only thing I feel good about beating you in right now.

That's right, junior year, you led the nation in three-point shooting.

Yes, I did. I also make a mean lasagna.

Or a nice one, depending on my mood.

I'd like to try both some time.

So how'd you fall into all this sports stuff?

It was really my dad who got me interested in sports. Accountant.

- Oh, a numbers guy. Like him. - The fruit didn't fall far from the tree.

Gave me a head for numbers and stats too.

The ones that are great for me are 6'3" and 200.

Well, what a coincidence.

Look, Matt. I know you got out of something serious recently.

Yeah, but that's over.

Glad to hear that.

So we can take it slow.

Slow works.

Oh, my goodness.

No, no. Terrence, these are nice new kicks, man.

If you wore toe shoes in practice,

you might catch a few more out routes, bro. Look at this.

Either that or you've got a little light in the loafers on us.

Oh, my God, you have me so pegged, Toes.

I stay up at night and I think about you in ballet tights and slippers.

Yeah, no, I bet you do. Do me a favor.

I'm gonna go take a shower. You don't follow me in, okay?

Okay, honey bun. I'll be right there.

Rex and I were in line at the airport in Sydney.

- I'd been there on business. - I was camping in the Outback.

Our flight was delayed six hours. We ended up having dinner.

Talked the whole 15-hour flight back to JFK.

- And that was over three years ago. - And now?

I'm tired of separate apartments, separate lives.

And how about you, Rex?

I hate it too. Of course I do.

But Jimmy just-- He doesn't understand the world I live in.

- Don't tell me. Tell Jim. - I have. A thousand times.

And I've told him that I don't wanna live in the shadows anymore.

I don't wanna have to worry about whether a reporter is gonna spot us

when we're out having dinner. Or on vacation.

I can't even have a picture of Rex at work. It's ridiculous.

- The world has changed, Rex. - Football hasn't.

I'm in the prime of my career.

I don't wanna throw that all away for a cause.

Well, being gay isn't a cause. Rex, it's who you are.

No. It's part of me, but it doesn't define me.

All I'm asking for, Jim, is a few years. After I retire.

Somebody has to be the first professional football player to come out.

Why not one of the best quarterbacks out there?

Because I don't wanna be known as the gay football player.

Jimmy, right now, right now we have privacy.

I come out and I'd lose it. We would lose it.

So you're gonna settle for losing me instead.

And battement and battement and battement.

And plié. Battement.

What is your damn problem?

My damn problem is you said this would help with football.

All it's done so far is give me a pain in my ass, hurt my feet,

get me laughed at in my locker room.

You've been to a couple of classes,

you should be kicking Toes Kittridge's ass by now. Is that it?

Oh, so it's so easy in your world.

Things don't go your way, you take off and never look back, is that it?

You know, if I had taken off that night, I would have been fine.

I never would've been at that club.

Never would have been shot. I'd never be in this stupid ballet class.

Never would've lost my step, which I'm not getting back.

You won't get it back

because you won't be that guy again. You're gonna be slower.

Today two-tenths, tomorrow four. And one day, it's gonna be a full second.

You know what? You suck at being a sponsor.

You know what? You can look back or you can look forward

because you are never gonna be that same guy. Ever.

So you can adapt, you can migrate or you can die.

Thank you for the support, Kojo Liberty. Enjoy retirement.

Hawks close it out with a 31-17 victory

and Rex Evans regained his all-star form.

Another good game by the Hawks' new dynamic duo.

The opportunities were there and we just made the best of them.

No. I'm telling you, that's what leaders do, okay?

They find a way, they dig down

and they get it done when the game's in the balance.

- I'm proud of this whole team. - You guys going to the playoffs?

Terrence. Give me a good quote?

You got to have a point of view on the Hawks' new offensive scheme.

Big win. Big win for everybody.

- Yeah, baby! - Good game. All right, man.

Hey, baby, great game!

Yeah!

Mark Cuban.

What about him?

He owns a company called Filler Corporation.

Filler Corporation is a subsidiary of Plus Entertainment.

Plus Entertainment holds a majority share in Cypress Land Holdings.

Who owns the stadium, the parking lot and the offices.

- Mark Cuban. - Is the one greenmailing us.

- What's he want? - Wants to set a meeting,

so I guess we'll find out.

What's up? How we living, Mr. King?

Glad you could make it.

I want a drink.

Me too. So let's drink.

This some sort of reverse sponsorology?

I'm your sponsor, right? You go down, I go down. It's your call.

Just slow up, Charlie Sheen. I just wanna talk.

I don't want the whole Vegas deluxe treatment.

Oh, okay. So pills are your thing, right?

Everybody's got a gateway. For me, it's steroids. Deca and D-Bol.

Me, in the bathroom, sticking a needle in my ass five times a week. You know why?

Because you wanted an ass like a Kardashian? I don't know.

No. I always had the great ass. Ask any of my exes.

I was using because I needed to keep the edge.

Did it help?

Oh, man, at first, it was like I was 20 years old again.

But reality was I was getting older.

Running backs don't ease into retirement.

One day you've got it, the next day you're a free agent, no job offers,

boozing, snorting and banging anything in sight

trying to hang on to yesterday.

- I'm just not ready to let go. - Neither was I.

And if I'd been a little smarter and took better care of me, I...

You're never gonna be 20 again.

May not be as fast or as strong as you were, but come on, man.

You can be smarter.

Hey. There you are. I was looking all over for you.

Jim's really gone.

I can't believe it. It's over.

I'm sorry, Rex. I know how difficult this must be.

I'm afraid losing him is something I'm gonna regret the rest of my life.

- I want out. - Of football?

No. Of the closet.

Dead. That's too bad.

Yep.

So how did you feel about that?

Okay.

Let's not play this game, because you know how it made me feel.

It made me feel rotten. First of all, it was none of my business.

Second of all, you knew all along

that my obsession with my mother's former lover

was my obsession with my former lover.

I said the word lover. Yes.

And, you know, my mother may or may not have regrets,

but I do, and all of those movie dreams

I was having with the unhappy endings,

the truth is, I do believe in happy endings.

Not perfect endings,

but, you know, there has to be some happiness out there.

You just gotta let it in.

And I don't want to regret losing the love of my life

and I do wanna have his kids. I do.

I'm just afraid. Of what? I don't know.

But guess what. I don't care anymore.

I don't care.

I used to be afraid of bees and I hated playing outside.

One day I was like, "I don't care if I get stung."

Of course, I went outside, I got stung.

It hurt so much, but so what?

Right? It's so beautiful out there.

And I wouldn't trade playing outside for anything.

Aren't you gonna say anything?

You said it all.

- So, ballet? - Yes.

- Kojo recommended it. - And you're enjoying it?

If there was a bar right here, I would show you my attitude.

- Your attitude? - Yeah, attitude.

Like, hand goes here,

toe behind the heel, kind of hard in cleats, but leg goes like this.

Swan Lake.

It was beautiful.

What about your two-tenths of a second?

I've accepted that's not coming back.

But I am.

I am, doc. It's not too late yet.

- Since when do you do drills, King? - Since today, coach.

Watch and learn.

- Knock, knock. - Hey.

- Well, you're here late. - Yeah, I was in the neighborhood.

- How's your mom? - She's much better. Thank you.

So everything's okay?

Actually... everything's not okay.

Okay. Sit down.

What's up?

So I've been doing a lot of soul-searching

in the last few weeks and I realized...

that I made a mistake.

About what?

I don't wanna live without you.

I don't wanna spend the rest of my days regretting losing you.

I wanna spend the rest of my days loving you.

And I'm ready to just throw caution to the wind

and, you know, have kids, have your kids.

Hey, hey, hey, enough.

Why are you telling me this now?

Where was this two months ago? A month ago? Hell, two weeks ago?

Well, I only just realized

and I didn't wanna have this huge regret and not tell you.

Well... thank you then for telling me...

and bravo for your epiphany.

I'm sure that feels really good to get it off your chest.

But I am not some yo-yo that you can just toy with.

I know you're not.

You know, just when I start to move on with my life.

I can't go through it again.

I'm done.