All kinds of drama spiraled out of what should have been a happy evening.
Spencer launched his apparel line on All American Season 4 Episode 18. Class act that he is, Spencer even pledged to use the proceeds from the line to fund scholarships for Crenshaw youths.
That was surprising, considering how NIL agreements were supposed to be ways for student-athletes to cash in on their fame. And, unlike Jordan, Spencer isn’t exactly coming from money.
It’s a shame that we had to listen to Spencer whine up until that moment about how hard his life was.
“Oh, woe is me! How am I supposed to play football, go to class, hang out with my hot girlfriend, and still find time to make money off my rising national fame? And I have to make a speech to all those who came to support me?”
Yeah, dude, that’s how self-promotion works.
Leave it to Coop to give Spencer the kick in the ass he needed. He had to be the shining beacon the little neighborhood kids looked up to.
Coop used to have a corner on the self-pity market. Getting shot, then losing your career, and being eclipsed by then losing your hot girlfriend will do that to you.
But Coop is making a comeback now. Thanks to Laura, she avoided jail time. She managed to come out of community service at a nursing home with a new girlfriend.
Now she and Laura are teaming up in South L.A. Law. Laura needed someone to organize her overcrowded dining-room table while Coop had to find another community-service gig.
Watching Coop field Laura’s calls was hilarious. She had no idea what she was saying legally.
But she was surprisingly organized, and she speaks the local language and knows the people in Crenshaw. So Laura finding a way to skirt the requirements so she could hire Coop only made sense.
And the world could always use another jailhouse paralegal, which is the direction in which Coop is heading.
Another Baker also was having a good day, as Billy manned up and eliminated the competition. And that was all thanks to Preach, Billy’s ear to the ground at South Crenshaw.
Thanks to Laura and Billy, Preach is just happier than hell to be working at South Crenshaw rather than being in jail.
As such, Preach doesn’t hesitate to speak his mind, and many of his thoughts and suggestions have turned out to be good ones.
Billy called in D’Angelo, seeking words of wisdom that would help him hang onto his disappearing principal job. Carter wasn’t much help because he’d been offered a new job upstate and didn’t know how to break that to Grace.
Because he listens to the little people, Preach knew that guidance counselor Regina was ready to retire and spend time with her grandkids but was campaigning for principal because she didn’t think there was anyone else to take on the position.
Preach suggested that Billy, to show he was serious, just ask Regina to step aside and that D’Angelo should talk to Grace about his opportunity.
Unfortunately, one ended up sabotaging the other. Regina agreed to drop out as long as Billy created a dean of students post. Billy immediately thought of Grace for that position. Where, pray tell, does an inner-city school find funding for this new position?
Anyway, Carter’s offer for Grace to move to Oakland with him fell on deaf ears because Grace had this new offer and another son (the less athletic one) still in high school. It was a nice, hollow gesture by D’Angelo, though.
That probably marks the end of that relationship. But, hey, it was between adults so did it matter to the viewers anyway?
There also was the inevitable breakup between Jordan and Simone. Not many long-distance relationships survive, and this one was bound to go down in flames, as they were on opposite coasts.
Simone at least was honest about being attracted to her “friend” Damon on All American Homecoming. Jordan is kidding himself if he thinks that he and Layla are “just friends.”
Now both of these pairings can contemplate becoming something more without feeling guilty.
Layla appeared to be working her way past keeping everyone (but Jordan) at arm’s length. Making amends with the personalized letters was a nice touch, even if Clay was too much of a jerk to take her gesture at face value.
Although Olivia was somewhat a victim, she still managed to make the most boneheaded maneuvers in this episode.
It wasn’t cool that someone posted nastiness about her online mainly because she was working on an article about the downsides of NIL agreements.
She (and Spencer) correctly fingered Wade for the posting, but neither considered that it would have been simple enough for him to find a freshman patsy to take the public fall for him.
Then Olivia first stood up, then accused her sponsee, Jen. She deserved to lose her title of sponsor for those missteps.
She even accused her housemates of drinking the orange juice then putting the empty bottle back. Those shortages are just part of living in an upscale sorority house.
Olivia is too close to the NIL article and should probably back away from it. There’s no way that does Spencer or even Jordan any good.
At least Spencer and Jordan reunited after Jordan’s breakup. But it looks like a split may be coming with Asher and J.J.
To revisit the glory days of Jordan and Simone, watch All American online.
Was Jordan and Simone’s split inevitable?
When will everyone get wise to Wade?
Should Olivia give up on the NIL article?
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Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.