"Ah, the trap of feminine likability. We're conditioned to believe there are only two options for how women are perceived, particularly in the workplace: we can either be liked or be respected. I'm always inclined to call bullshit on this kind of dichotomy. First of all, who says there are only two options? Who says what the options are, and who put those people in charge of determining the options we supposedly must choose between? Why do we have to choose at all?"
"Side note for those who don't follow football: Coach W. and Peyton are clear, if very fictionalized, analogues for University of North Carolina (and formerly, New England Patriots) football coach Bill Belichick, and his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson. Like Coach W., Belichick is a legend in his sport who moved into college coaching after winning six Super Bowls. Belichick is currently in his second year of coaching at UNC."
Society conditions women to accept a false choice between being liked or being respected, a constricting and arbitrary dichotomy. Elsbeth Tascioni solves the murder of St. Ivan's Athletic Director Dave Coppins, who died from blunt force trauma while in a post-workout ice bath. The narrative gives limited direct context for the relationship between murderous Coach Russell Willoughby and the victim, relying on Elsbeth's context-clues conjecture. The story emphasizes Elsbeth's interactions with Coach W.'s younger girlfriend, Peyton Ramsay, portraying Peyton as ambitious, opportunistic, and impatient. Coach W. and Peyton function as fictionalized analogues for Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson, with Belichick's move to UNC and the Tar Heels' 2024 4-8 record noted.
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