The Basketball Team – Part 1

by Doctor Jackman

I thought I’d seen everything. As a doctor, I’d learned long ago to be prepared for the unexpected. But that all changed when I moved to Milwaukee and took the job as sports doctor for the Hope High School sports teams. They had football, basketball, and baseball, and a lot of the young men who went there went on to play college ball and pro-ball after that. You’d think with a name like Hope that the school would be filled with inspirational quotes decorating the walls and posters whose taglines cried of God or knowledge. But no. Hope High was an “urban” school. Urban, as it turned out, being code for you can bring your knives to school but leave the guns at home, and try not to flunk all your classes.

You see, I’d taken the job without much thought or looking into the area. I’d just lost my old job and was in kind of a bind financially. The school was practically throwing money at me to get me to go there. I’d been caught in a bit of a scandal with another doctor and things had gotten out of hand rather quickly. But Hope High didn’t know about that, and now that I’ve been here a while, I realize that it wouldn’t have mattered if they did. 

Besides, it’s not like I’d done anything really wrong. Consensual sex was consensual sex. What did it matter if it took place in a surgical room? We’d cleaned up afterwards.

The first day that I stepped foot into Hope High I was taken aback, not just by the colors I saw, but by the dirt and smells that permeated the place. It wasn’t sewage, exactly, more like dusty mold mixed with sweat. I think I was the only white man in the entire building when I showed up for work, and probably still am. I was sort of intrigued by it all, coming from an upper class society where the only time you saw a black man was if he was on TV throwing a ball, or maybe playing sax down at Lou’s Blues House.

The colors weren’t just black, they were varying shades of brown. Chocolate to molasses to honey. Latino boys and girls mixed into the crowd, creating a delicate and beautiful kaleidoscope of caramel. And the students… geez, they didn’t look a thing like students. If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought they were all in their twenties. Turns out, some of them were. Most of the students that went to Hope High had repeated a grade or two, so you had sixteen-year-old freshman and twenty-year-old seniors. 

It was strange, but it was nice in a way. I thought maybe I could really help these students. They deserved a real shot to make their dreams come true, and that meant they needed to be in good physical shape to play sports. If a senior who was on the verge of a scholarship suddenly knocked his knee out, that was it for the guy. He’d have blown his chance.

I thought that I could make sure injuries stayed to a minimum and that everyone knew the best ways to prevent future ones. I felt all eyes on me as I made my way through the halls and to the main office. 

“Hello, I’m Dr. William Cole.” The lady behind the desk looked up at me and burst into giggles.

“You’re Dr. Cole. Oh hell no. Wait till they get a load of you.” She looked around the office for someone to confer with, desperate to point out the stupidity in hiring me, apparently. “You know what they did to the last guy, right?” she said, turning back to me. “And he was black! Does Principal Harris know you’re a white man?” 

I opened my mouth to tell her that I had Skyped with Principal Harris several times and I was, therefore, sure he was aware of my skin color, but she moved away from me before I had the chance. I’d also wanted to ask her what had happened to the last doctor, since she indicated that whatever it was had not been so good for him. I was pretty sure my cheeks were burning and I didn’t know how I was supposed to get through the day here if this was the type of reception I’d be getting.

A minute later Principal Harris came into the office with his hand extended. I shook it and felt his ebony skin, strong and smooth, under my grip. When he touched my skin I saw a twinkle in his eyes that made me feel like everything was going to be alright. He was young to be a principal. Maybe thirty, at the most. And his dark skin shined under the overhead lights, creating a sensual glow that made me think of lovers sweating together in bed.

“Welcome to Hope High, doctor. We’re proud to have you on our team.”

The woman I’d spoken to behind the desk shook her head and laughed again. 

“Problem Aliyah?” Principal Harris asked, scrunching his brow together.

She shook her head and leaned forward across the desk. “You know that’s a white man you’re talkin’ to, right? You remember what they did to Dr. Jackson?”

Principal Harris looked ready to kill her, but she ignored him.

“Honey,” she turned her eyes to me. “You didn’t bring your lunch in with you, did you?” I held up a small lunch box with a sandwich tucked inside. She flashed Principal Harris a look as if to say “I told you so,” then turned back to me. “Well you just keep that close to you, alright? Don’t let it out of your sight.”

Principal Harris sighed and shot me an apologetic glance. “He is more than qualified for this position. We’re lucky to have him.”

“Mmmhmmm,” she hummed. “We’ll just see how the students feel about that.”

Principal Harris ushered me out of the office and down the hall towards the gym, where my office was to be. Not many high schools could afford staff doctors. This school thrived on its sports teams though. They were the only thing that brought the school any money, and they knew it was the only shot a lot of these guys had to get out of the gutter. 

“I’m sorry about Aliyah. You’ll just have to ignore her for now. She takes a while to warm up to.” 

I wasn’t sure that any amount of warming could get me into Aliya’s good graces. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

In the gym Principal Harris ushered me to a side office with a door. It was smaller than most of the hospital rooms I’d worked in. More like a closet than a room, but there was a clean desk and blank walls for me to fill as I desired. 

“I could use a cot,” I said automatically, thinking of the players and realizing the need to have a place to put them should they get injured.

Principal Harris smiled, embarrassed. “We had one… One of the students stole it.” The look on my face must have alarmed him because he quickly followed up with, “We’ll have a new one for you by the end of the week.”

The head coach for the boys’ basketball team came in just then. He knocked on the door, looked me up and down, then deciding he’d take what he could get, extended his hand to me. I pumped it twice and felt my hand crushed under his. Coach Brown was a big man. Not that he was fat, he was actually quite trim. It was only that his muscles bulged everywhere, growing out of him like a weed and making his arms look like he had beach balls stuffed up there.

His skin was a deep butterscotch; it looked like he must’ve had some sort of Hispanic heritage mixed into his landscape. The color suited him. His eyes had just a hint of green hiding behind the brown. They were quite startling actually. 

Since basketball season was the one currently in play, I expressed my interest in meeting the team as soon as possible. 

“Yeah, sure. They’re probably not in school right now, most of ’em, but they’ll be here for practice.” 

Principal Harris excused himself and left me in Coach Brown’s strong and capable hands. “Mind if I change real fast before I give you the tour? I spilled some soda all over my damned clothes earlier.”

“Sure,” I said, anxious to get a better look around the school. It was a low class school in a low income neighborhood, but their teams were unbeatable. If I did well here, it would go a long way to restoring my reputation. Maybe next time I could even get a spot with a college team.

“My office is this way,” Coach Brown said. “Next door. By the way, did you bring a lunch?” 

I held my bag up. His eyes grew serious. “You want to keep that close. Very close.” I was about to ask what he meant by that when he stepped out of my office.

I followed him to another, only slightly larger office two doors down. It was scattered with papers and gym equipment. In the corner was a pile of clothes. Coach Brown went through them till he found what he wanted, then pulled his shirt over his head and pushed his pants to the floor. I felt my eyes bug out of my head. 

“Oh my God,” I whispered, unable to help myself. Coach laughed. “Yeah, I get that a lot.” He winked at me. Coach Brown’s cock was enormous. It was the size of a football and hung between his legs like a kite before it takes flight. I had the feeling Coach could be ready to go at a moment’s notice and felt myself blush for thinking that way. I couldn’t help but wonder how it looked when it was hard though. If it was anything like his chest, which was a solid wall of muscle, I thought it would probably be bigger and firmer than any dildo I’d ever seen. 

Coach Brown pulled a clean shirt over his head and I watched as he fished through the pile for some fresh pants. His cock swung back and forth as he moved around, like it was dancing to some silent tune only it could here. Each time it moved, it seemed to grow fuller and more golden. Finally, he found a pair of pants he deemed clean enough and pulled them on. 

I realized I’d been staring and averted my eyes, hoping he hadn’t noticed. He walked ahead of me and slapped me on the back.

“It’s cool. We’re a real close family in this school.” He winked at me and I felt my face go scarlet. “Let me show you around.”

I followed him up and down the halls as he pointed out things like the cafeteria, library, etc. Any time we passed someone on a team, he’d stop and introduce me. I’d met about twenty students by the time we got back to my office. 

“Today we’ve got basketball practice right after school,” Coach said. “You can meet the rest of the team then. They’re all seniors. We’ve got one junior, who oughta be a senior, but…” he shrugged as if to say that’s how it goes here.

“I’d like to do a physical today, if that’s alright.”

Coach Brown lifted his eyes. “Right off the bat like that? Yeah okay, why not? They gotta get used to you some time, right?”

I nodded and pretended I wasn’t even a little terrified at the idea of giving a physical to students who looked like they could snap me in two if they wanted. Not that I wasn’t built. I worked out regularly and had a nice set of muscles, it just wasn’t anything like what Coach Brown had. My muscles were hills and valleys, his were mountains and ball parks. It was almost three so I set to work, prepping the equipment I’d need for a routine checkup. I wasn’t planning anything unusual unless it appeared necessary. Just get the vitals and check for hernias, mostly. If everyone cooperated, it shouldn’t take more than an hour to get through the team, if that.

I pulled out the roster I’d been given and scanned the names and ages. DeShawn… 20. Terrell… 19. Jamal… 18. Alejandro… 18. Josue… 19. There wasn’t one person on the list under 18. Even the junior, Xavier, was listed at 18. I got a sinking feeling in my stomach, like I was about to examine a group of prisoners instead of high school students. 

I heard a ball bounce and turned my head. Through my window I saw a tall man with curly hair and dark, shimmering skin dribbling a basketball around the court. He saw me and waved. I smiled and waved back. Maybe I was nervous about nothing. Coach Brown went out on the court and started talking to the guy. They seemed very friendly. Another guy filed in, and another, until soon the gym was full. I took a deep breath and stepped out onto the court with my black medical bag.

I felt 50 pairs of eyes stare up at me. 

“Is this the basketball team?” I whispered to Coach. 

He grinned. “Word got around about you,” he said. “Some of the football and baseball guys showed up too. They want to check you out, you know?”

“Oh,” I nodded. “Of course.” My heart hammered in my chest. 

“Go ahead and introduce yourself to them,” he said. “I’ll just get ’em lined up for you.” He turned around and blew a whistle. It screeched loudly and made my ear drums rattle. I’d have to get used to that.

“Alright you guys, this is the new doc. Don’t do to him what you did to the last one. We need this guy.”

My head snapped up. What did he just say? Visions of a white lab coat splattered with blood filled my head. I looked down at the one I wore over my suit and removed it as quickly as possible, stuffing it into my bag.

“Alright doc, they’re all yours,” Coach Brown said, smiling. He winked and whispered, “I’m here if you need me,” then stepped off to the side.

I stared at the sea of brown faces looking expectantly up at me. Some of them seemed interested, some hostile. I cleared my throat. “Hello, I am Dr. Cole. You may call me, er, Dr. Cole.”

A few of them laughed and I kicked myself for beginning so badly. “I’d like to get to know each of you. I hope we can be friends.” Does that sound lame? Judging by the snickers I got, as well as the way Coach Brown cradled his head in his hands, shaking it, I assumed it did. Everything I was saying was coming out wrong.

I cleared my throat to try again. “I hear you’re the best high school basketball team in this country.” The guys started stomping their feet and letting out great walloping noises that hurt my ears. “In order to make sure that you can all play this season, I need to do a proper physical exam.”

Their groans echoed around the room. “I don’t have to do all of you today, just the basketball team. The rest of you can watch so you’ll know what to expect. Can the basketball team please step forward so I’ll know who you are?”

A few guys stepped up, but not enough for the team.

Coach jumped in. “Jamal, get your skinny ass up here. You too Mauricio. What the hell are you hiding in the corner for? You think the doc’s gonna bite?”

Someone in the back shouted something about a getting a hot glue gun, and Coach Brown snapped his head towards them. “I already warned you. You don’t do anything to this man like you did to the last one. You leave him and his car alone, you got that?”

My heart thumped. My car? What about my car? I glanced towards the parking lot, realizing I hadn’t checked on it all day. Maybe I should start taking the bus. Or buy a beater car.

Coach Brown looked at me. “Alright Doc, they’re all yours. Putty in your hands. Show no fear.”

I tried to look confident, but my hands were shaking. About 20 boys had stepped forward now. “Alright, well, I’ll start down at this end.” 

They watched me as I walked and I realized that their eyes weren’t just on me, they were on my medical bag. “All I’m going to do today,” I said, “is check your vitals. That means your temperature, your blood pressure, and probably ask you all to pee in a cup for me.”

“I’ll pee for you alright,” someone in back shouted. “I can pee real good when I’m aiming for your mouth.”

Coach blew his whistle. “That’s four laps Darius! Get goin’!” A guy who looked like he should’ve been thirty and in prison, with all the gang tattoos he had, started jogging around the gym. I made a mental note to forget the urine sample.

Coach threw me a look that said, “continue,” and so I did. “I will also check each of you for hernias, since those are common amongst athletes.” He heard several people start coughing. Coach looked ready to pop a vein. 

“Anyone got any bubblegum?” someone called out.

Coach ran towards the group in the back and screamed. “You leave that man alone. You leave his car alone. And you leave his shoes alone. I find anyone who’s been messing with his shoes, and they’ll answer to me.”

My shoes? I looked down at my feet, uncertain about my choice of footwear now. They were black dress shoes. I was used to dressing for an office. Maybe I should rethink that. I wiggled my toes and moved to the first person in line. 

“Can everyone please disrobe for me?” They were whistles and cat calls. Someone shouted, “The Doc likes dick!” and they all cackled with laughter. I was on the verge of giving up when one of the students, Terrell, who I later found out was the captain of the team, stepped forward and pulled his shirt over his head. He turned to the rest of his team. 

“You’re all a bunch of morons,” he shouted. “The season starts next week. This is my last chance to get called up to the big leagues. I ain’t gonna blow it ’cause you jerks are afraid your pricks are too small. You just wanna cover them up and hide ’em.” It was a taunt and it worked. The team started to undress. 

Terrell’s pants dropped to the ground and he kicked them aside. I tried to hide my shock, but it was difficult. His cock was as big as a life preserver. I didn’t even think I’d be able to wrap my hand around it, that’s how thick it was. He caught my expression and his smile widened. “Go on man, check me out. That’s your job right?” 

I nodded and opened my black bag, removing the stethoscope and a pair of gloves. I pulled the gloves on and placed the stethoscope on Terrell’s chest. His skin looked even darker against the silver that gleamed under the gym lights. I was so close I could smell the sweat radiating off of him. It smelled good. 

The other guys were all looking around, checking each other out. A few of the guys tried to hide their cocks, covering them with their hands. Terrell was the only one who really seemed confident. He had a huge cock and he knew it. He was proud to show it off. 

“Your lungs sound good,” I finally told him, stepping to the player on his left. The guys who were still dressed stood and watched, pointing and laughing at the others. I’d seen this type of behavior before. It was pure embarrassment. 

“If you’re going to be in this room,” I said. “Your clothes need to be off.”

“You said we didn’t all need exams today,” someone shouted. 

“That’s right, but you’re not all going to stand around, checking out each other’s cocks and embarrassing one another.” Heads turned, there were murmurs all over.

“You heard the man,” Coach Brown said. “If you’re in this room, you’re naked.” Then Coach Brown did something I hadn’t expected. He pulled his shirt over his head and dropped his pants to the ground.