"Mr. James, I wonder if you have any time to talk about the sponsors.h.i.+p and endors.e.m.e.nt. Yes, we talked about that last time."

"Suspend? Mr. James, as for the endors.e.m.e.nt fee, we could discuss it again..."

"You"ve found a new cooperation partner? Mr. James, I hope you will reconsider Phillip. He has a very good image in the public, and he is an inspirational role model."

"Well, I hope we can cooperate next time."

Putting down the phone, Steven"s face became serious. This was the third sponsor who"d refused him recently.

Venality of secular people! Steven cursed in his mind.

However, Steven knew that the sponsors were not to blame. It was Phillip who performed badly recently. No, his performance had not been bad, it had been terrible. Without good results, Phillip would naturally lose the sponsors" favor.

Phillip, when will you get back to where you were? If you go on like this, our sponsors will all be gone! Steven sighed, then he seemed to suddenly think of something. He picked up the phone again.

"h.e.l.lo, is this the organizing committee of the New York Athletics Invitational? This is the agent of Barron Phillip. I would like to know if your invitation letter has been issued?" Steven asked.

"We sent out the invitation letter three days ago!" a lady"s voice said.

"Three days ago? I checked my email and I didn"t see it." As he said this, Steven felt a terrible foreboding.

"Just a moment please. I"ll check for you. Barron Phillip? I"m sorry. Barron Phillip wasn"t on our invitation list!" The woman"s response confirmed Steven"s foreboding.

Steven kept silent. He didn"t even ask why. He didn"t need to.

For an invitational tournament, the organizer"s three standards were that the athlete must be strong enough, famous enough, or local enough to warrant special treatment.

In the eyes of the organizer, Phillip clearly didn"t meet the three standards.

The woman on the other end of the phone seemed to feel Steven"s bad mood, so she gave him a humane consolation prize.

She said, "We also have games for the disabled after the end of the regular compet.i.tion. Although it"s a performance, we"re also sponsored by the New York Disability Foundation. Therefore, any disabled athlete who partic.i.p.ates in the game will get one year of dental insurance as a prize."

"One year of dental insurance?" Steven"s voice was full of contempt.

Seeing a dentist was really expensive. Besides, dental insurance and medical insurance were separated. Whether it was an ordinary person buying commercial insurance, or an employer-made offer of treatment, the dental insurance was listed separately. Employers who offered dental plans would be considered quite generous.

For ordinary Americans, a dental insurance plan was really a good prize, which could not only a.s.sure dental health, but also save a lot of money. The disabled, who didn"t have high incomes, would pay more attention to this kind of security.

But Phillip was not an ordinary athlete. How could he care about a dental insurance plan when he had won more than ten million dollars in two years? Therefore, it sounded more like a humiliation than a prize.

But the woman on the other side didn"t know it, so she continued, "But the foundation just sponsors the prize, not including the transportation and accommodation, and we the organizer will not provide this either. So, Mr. Phillip has to come to New York on his own expense."

"His own expense?" Phillip"s voice became more contemptuous.

The tickets for the round trip were not cheap, not to mention the cost of accommodation in New York. The prize was just dental insurance, not even enough to cover the cost!

…

What Brought the Blade Warrior down from the Pedestal?

"During the last two years, the hottest athlete in the US has undoubtedly been the Blade Warrior, Barron Phillip, who became an inspirational model after losing his legs in Iraq as a soldier. As a disabled athlete, he competes with world-cla.s.s able-bodied athletes in world champions.h.i.+ps, and is even considered a very strong contender. There is no doubt that the Blade Warrior Phillip is a great athlete."

"However, during the last few months, the Blade Warrior has seemed to be in trouble. His performance was much worse than his previous record. He could compete with the best athletes before, but now he has lost races to second-rate runners. Although it is still a miracle for him to be able to compete with able-bodied athletes, he has really stepped back from his previous achievements."

"So, the question is, what has brought down Phillip?"

"There is no doubt about Phillip"s talent. What mediocre athlete could have reached the world champions.h.i.+p?"

"And he is right at the prime age for track and field athletes, so age is not the reason for the decline, or at least not such a sudden decline."

"The only reason the author can think of is att.i.tude. Phillip must be in a bad state, so he can"t perform as well as he used to in matches, which has led to a sudden drop in his performance."

"As an athlete, it is quite normal to have ups and downs. Many factors, whether on the field or personal, may lead to changes in the athlete"s state of mind. Experienced professional athletes are also good at adjusting themselves, and Phillip is obviously experienced. He should be able to gradually adjust himself."

"But the truth is, his performance is becoming worse and worse, showing no sign of becoming better, which clearly shows that he is losing his state gradually."

"According to our investigation, Phillip changed his coach not long before. He left the coach he had cooperated with for two years and turned to the AP Training Center. However, the previous coach was the very coach that found Phillip and trained him as the Blade Warrior."

"Surely we can"t blame Phillip"s declining performance on his coach completely, but as for his recent performance, changing his coach was not a brilliant choice. But what"s more surprising to me is that the famous AP Training Center suffered such a failure!"

This was an article written by the famous sports commentator, Fox, in the American Journal of Athletics.

This magazine was very influential and many professional track and field workers paid attention to it, not just in North America, but also in Europe and Asia. Especially before the Olympic Games or the World Champions.h.i.+p, the predictions about the winners of each track and field event were considered as the weather vane of the compet.i.tion.

Fox was a very famous sports commentator and his articles were often published in well-known sports magazines. Outsiders might not know him, but almost all insiders knew his name.

The combination of a famous sports commentator and an influential magazine always could make some waves.

…

Although most people read the news on mobile phones these days, Dai Li"s training center still subscribed to dozens of sports magazines for the coaches and members.

When Randy Blake handed the article, What Brought the Blade Warrior down from the Pedestal? in the latest American Journal of Athletics to Dai Li, Dai Li knew that Blake had made it happen.

"Was this written by someone you asked?" Dai Li asked without finis.h.i.+ng it.

"I was a sports commentator before, and Fox is an old friend," Blake said, not trying to conceal it.

"The AP Training Center might blacklist us for this article," Dai Li said, but his face looked like he didn"t care.

"You told me that the best way to become a new leader is to step over the body of the old one!" Blake leaned comfortably in the sofa and went on, "But the AP Training Center really depressed me. Phillip has been trained for months there, but his performance is becoming worse and worse. It seems that the most famous fitness training center in America doesn"t know how to train disabled athletes."

"Several years ago, I met with the manager of the AP Training Center in Los Angeles. His name was David Mills. I don"t know whether he is still in charge." Dai Li wore a wistful look.

"He is still in charge. I think he must be enraged!" Blake answered.

…

David Mills had no time to be angry, and he was answering another call from headquarters.

"Mills, several months ago, I told you someone would be responsible for the training of the Blade Warrior if something went wrong. Do you remember that?" The voice on the phone was still harsh.

"Yes. But since then, I have arranged for Phillip to have the best—"

"I don"t need an explanation!" The voice on the phone interrupted Mills and went on, "You"d better come to headquarters and explain to the board!"