True Hollywood Story: Kevin Hart

It started innocently enough. At least, that’s what he thought, as he made his way through the familiar halls of Fernley High School on a cool November day. High School football was just wrapping up, and Kevin Hart did exactly what countless other young men in his position did. He told a white lie. This lie wouldn’t change lives, but it would allow him to puff his chest out, just as so many other young men do around the end of their senior seasons. So, without thinking, he proudly told his buddies that he had received a letter from Cal – and they wanted him to play football.

Every year, across the United States, high school seniors wake up in their bed with one goal in mind: to make a Division 1 college team. It’s what gets them out of bed for 2-a-days. Every year, around November, thousands of young men make claims that they’re being recruited by Division 1 teams. Thousands are lying, but in telling that little lie, they get to live the fantasy – live what they have been dreaming about since stepping onto the field. For most, it ends there. It becomes clear that they aren’t good enough, and the boastful claims fade to memories, and reality takes hold. Not for Kevin Hart.

862 is not a big number. It is especially not big when it refers to the enrollment of an entire high school. Fernley High School, yes the entire school, caught wind of Kevin Hart’s recruitment quickly. They had never had a D-1 athlete before. The same dream that motivates young men to get on the field took hold of the entire school. One of their own was going to make it at the D-1 level. The week after telling his buddies about his recruitment, Kevin was walking down those same familiar halls, but this time with an air of distinction. People would clap him on the back, teammates would shout, freshman would cower, and girls who wouldn’t give him the time of day started to take notice. And MAN did it feel good! As the congratulations, adorations, and suggestive conversations piled on, Kevin began to believe in his own lie. He began to believe it with such ferocity that it ceased to become a lie, and simply became the truth. Kevin was walking tall.

Then the questions came – Who else was interested? What are the coaches saying? Kevin had easy answers to those questions – he had been prepped his entire career for them. Oregon, Nevada, Oklahoma State, they’re all interested. Coach says he’s gonna move me to left tackle. Or maybe center. Says I might get some playing time as a freshman. The lying became easier and easier as Kevin became more and more convinced of its veracity. The school was buzzing, and Kevin was still riding high, especially after hooking up with that cheerleader at the party last weekend. It’s funny; she never talked to him before his recruitment.

December 15th was the day that the full weight of his story finally hit Kevin. He was lying in bed before school, and he was tired. His recruitment was all anyone wanted to talk about, all anyone cared about. And, at the end of the day, it was all a lie. The time for reneging was well past – according to his story, he had 4 offers from Nevada, Cal, Oregon, and Oklahoma State. It would be nearly impossible to say that they were all pulled for mysterious reasons. Besides, his parents were so proud. And his new girlfriend, the cheerleader, did pretty much whatever he wanted. Today, he had to meet with the principal to discuss how they would put on a pep rally for him when he chose what college to go to. Things were spinning out of Kevin’s hands now. What had been a firecracker lie had turned into an A-bomb, and the timer was ticking.

Two days before national signing day, Kevin stands in the side hallway next to the gym filled with people. His girlfriend had made a sign for him, and the school’s colors had been draped from the rafters. Today was the day that their native son would choose where he would play his college ball, after which he would undoubtedly move on to the NFL and stardom. This sleepy Nevada town had one of it’s own who was a jump away from the spotlight of national attention. They had no idea it was a farce. After the introductions, Kevin walks slowly to the gallows where two hats have been placed bearing the logo of Bruin and a Duck.

Traditionally, executions are perpetrated by others. The victim does not choose when to die, it’s the cold hand of a black hooded figure that pulls the trigger, tightens the noose, or drops the ax. Often, we do not choose when we die, nor do we die to the cheers of our peers. But on this day, Kevin Hart walked boldly to the table where he was to be executed, and said a few words. It was a public execution, and the only one who knew was the damned. Kevin placed the Cal hat on his head, and in doing so, pulled the trigger. The crowd cheered as Kevin died. He is now forever the kid who faked his recruitment to gain the adoration of his high school.

This, in and of itself, is nothing new. Kids fake their recruitments all the time, but Kevin took it about a bajillion steps too far. And now, after wasting everyone’s time, and making everyone feel foolish, he has finally been exposed as a victim of his own stupidity. We’ve all been caught in a lie before – it’s just that usually we don’t get caught at pep-rally’s in our honor. I wonder, though, how much of the guilt needs to be placed on Kevin, and how much needs to be placed on the misguided adults who saw a glimmer of stardom, and turned a blind eye to everything else. Kevin told a lie, and got caught, but I wonder if the Hiroshima style explosion that resulted could have been mitigated to a M-80 explosion had he not been pushed down that path by adults too excited to see what was really going on. Did Kevin even have time to tell the truth amidst all the pats on the back?