Sports Medicine Master System-Chapter 74 - 71: Surgery, the System’s Shocking Effect

Chapter 74: Chapter 71: Surgery, the System’s Shocking Effect

He apologized, then answered the phone. But after hearing just a couple of sentences, a "Fack" slipped out.

"I don’t get it. He’s such a smart guy, what the hell was he thinking, getting into a domestic violence incident?" Brian roared.

Chen Yu, who had just stood up, and the lawyer exchanged a look and silently sat back down.

’Domestic violence? Who?’

"Find Hunter and get him over there right away. And tell Jason not to say a single word to the police until Hunter arrives." Brian hung up the phone and let out a few more "Facks," clearly furious.

’Jason?’

’That must be J Kidd. The guy who entered the league the same year as Hill and was even picked ahead of him as the second overall pick.’

’I don’t have a strong impression of him,’ Chen Yu thought. ’I just remember that he was clean-cut and seemed like a nice guy. Who would’ve thought he’d hit his wife?’

Hitting your wife is a very serious offense in the United States.

"Um, Brian, what happened?" Seeing that Brian had no intention of explaining, Chen Yu, whose gossipy side was getting the better of him, couldn’t help but ask.

The lawyer beside him instantly perked up his ears. ’Domestic violence? Excellent. Sounds like a divorce case.’

Brian had a splitting headache. He had ambitiously assembled his "Backcourt 2000." One of its members was out for the season with recurring injuries, and now the other had gone and created this mess.

’You’re a star player! In the media’s eyes, you’re the kind of star with the classiest style of play, the best personality, and the most approachable demeanor. A role model for many young players in the league. And now what? A nice guy like you hits his wife? Your image is completely ruined!’

"Apparently, it was over the kid’s snacks or something. He argued with Joumana and slapped her. Oh, and I think he also spit in her face?" Brian’s expression grew more bewildered as he spoke. ’Snacks? Spitting in her face? What the hell is all this?’

Chen Yu cringed, immediately reminded of Hardaway. The incident where he threatened his girlfriend with a gun had only been resolved a few days prior. He’d heard from Boston that Hardaway paid a sum of money and Latasha had dropped the charges.

The controversy from that had just died down, and now this thing with J Kidd happened.

Chen Yu silently gazed at the contract on the desk. ’Did I sign this a bit too hastily?’

Brian stood up. "Sorry, Chen. I probably have to head over there. I’ll have David come and show you around the office area."

He stepped out, called David Griffin in, and then left in a hurry.

Chen Yu felt that team doctors’ offices were all pretty much the same: piled high with various medical records and files.

Emerson had also left Chen Yu a mountain of files.

Other than that, there was an old Apple computer and a leather swivel chair.

He sat down for a moment. It was quite comfortable.

Just as he was about to look around some more, his phone rang.

After a glance at the number, Chen Yu answered, "Mark, what’s up?"

The person on the other end of the line was Mark Tatum. He had only started working for the NBA the year before last and was one of Stern’s many assistants, apparently in the marketing department.

At the NBA, business operations and basketball operations are two separate departments.

Logically, the new player health management department should have had someone from basketball operations assigned to it. But for some reason, Stern—perhaps wanting to develop Tatum—had him take charge of the daily affairs at headquarters and act as the liaison with Chen Yu.

Plus, the guy was half-Chinese; his mother was from China, and he even had a Chinese name: Tan Huimin.

Chen Yu strongly suspected that this was the very reason Stern had assigned Tatum to be his contact.

On the phone, Tatum first congratulated Chen Yu on the successful surgery.

After the surgery yesterday, it immediately became the biggest news in the United States sports world.

After some pleasantries, he got down to business.

In fact, this health management department was already established and had begun operations.

Chen Yu was even getting a salary—$450,000 US dollars a year, split between the league and the Players’ Union. Apparently, Ewing had specifically fought for this, worried that if they didn’t pay, Chen Yu wouldn’t be on the players’ side.

First, he updated Chen Yu on the department’s setup progress. Then, he mentioned that all teams had submitted the required reports for players on their injury lists.

"You emailed it to me, right? I’ll take a look."

There was a computer right in front of him, so Chen Yu turned it on and logged into his email.

There was a download link. Chen Yu downloaded it; it was a pretty large file.

It covered a total of 41 players.

Chen Yu looked them over one by one.

Golden State Warriors: Guard Larry Hughes, fractured right thumb, expected to be out for two weeks, after which his injury will be re-evaluated.

Minnesota Timberwolves’ Anthony Peeler: sprained left ankle.

Wizards’ Richmond: Jordan had told him about this one before—sprained left knee, with a partial tear of the medial collateral ligament. Recovery time indefinite.

Then there were the Brooklyn Nets. Their forward, Keith Van Horn, had fractured the fibula in his right leg at the start of the season. He had already missed 34 games and was requesting to return.

A few days ago, the Brooklyn Nets could have just let Van Horn return directly. But now, he had to be approved by the health management department.

Chen Yu then saw the Pioneer. In addition to Stacy Augmon with a muscle strain, there was also World Roof Sabonis, a player who had left a deep impression on him. This player had Achilles tendinitis and was expected to miss about two weeks.

Chen Yu specifically clicked open his injury report and took a close look.

’Achilles tendinitis. To put it bluntly, it’s caused by overuse. It requires rest and anti-inflammatories.’

The medical records also stated that he was undergoing anti-inflammatory treatment.

The medical report was written by the Pioneer’s team doctor, Donald Roberts. Chen Yu had an impression of him; he was an expert in orthopedics in the United States.

After glancing at the rest of the report, Chen Yu realized that the Pioneer’s medical department was actually quite strong compared to many other teams in the league.

Two externally hired team doctors—one orthopedics expert and one internal medicine expert.

They also had a full-time Massage Therapist, a sports injury prevention specialist, a head Trainer, and others—a whole six-person team. That could be considered a high-end setup.

Scrolling down further, Chen Yu also saw the Lakers. Their number 8 star, Kobe Bryant, had also sprained his ankle, but it wasn’t serious—just a common strain.

As he continued to look, Chen Yu suddenly saw an extremely familiar name.

Hakeem Olajuwon.

The Rocket had submitted an injury report stating that Olajuwon had issues like a strained collateral ligament in his right knee, joint wear and tear, and bursitis, and would be placed on the injury list.