| "Personal Fouls" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ← | SVU, Episode 13.02 | → |
| Production number: 13002 First aired: 28 September 2011 First aired (US): 28 September 2011 First aired (UK): 18 March 2012 First aired (CAN): 28 September 2011 First aired (AUS): 19 January 2012 | ||
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| Written By Bryan Goluboff Directed By Jim McKay | ||
When a well-respected basketball coach is accused of sexual abuse, Detectives Benson and Tutuola are joined by new Detective Nick Amaro to uncover the truth about a star player's past.
Summary
As Coach Ray Masters is inducted to the Metro Basketball Hall of Fame by former students Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh, an ex-player accuses the coach of sexually abusing him as a child. Detective Nick Amaro transfers into the SVU squad and is thrown on to the case. The detectives interview former players but no one admits to abuse, forcing Benson and Fin to dig deeper into Coach Ray's most successful player, basketball star Prince Miller, and his manager/cousin.
Plot
SVU is working on a case where Stevie, a former basketball player claims that he was molested by Ray Masters. Masters is a well respected and known basketball coach that runs training programs for children and professional players. Stevie is now living as a homeless junkie and talks to Nick Amaro, the new detective, about the abuse that he suffered as a child. He tells Nick that he was paid off by the coach in order to remain quiet about the molestation, but everyone else on the team is unable to find any evidence or support to back up Stevie's claim.
According to Stevie, his roommate Prince Miller supposedly received worse treatment than Stevie had. Prince won't admit that any of this actually happened to him and as a result, he resented Stevie. Later, the team finds Stevie dead. He had overdosed on heroin. It is suspicious that Prince Miller's manager, Supreme, had forced a shot of heroin into Stevie. Supreme knew that Stevie was a recovering addict and he needed to ensure that his client/cousin's image did not get tarnished by the bad press. A shocked Prince denies Supreme would do this and refuses questions on his abuse.
The detectives soon confirm Supreme killed Stevie, as his blood was found on Supreme's shoes but note that it won't solve the issue with Prince before they decide to remind him of his roots. They drive him to the basketball court, where a practice in the city. He gets out of the car, as the players all come over to talk to Prince and he converses with them until he sees Coach Masters is in the middle of basketball practice with a bunch of teens. The coach is clearly being affectionate with a certain boy named Devon, who looks uncomfortable at the affection and Coach notices Prince. He states it is good to see him and tells him that he was always his "favorite" student, trying to grasp his hand through the fence. However, Prince pulls his hand away. The coach sends everyone back into the game and Olivia tells Prince that the coach is going on a road trip with Devon and few other boys on the upcoming weekend where he'll be doing bed checks. She reminds Prince of those days and he appears to have made a choice.
Prince decides to testify against him in front of the jury. Prince then goes on Television and reveals his abuse by Masters' hands. He hesitantly admits that he didn't come forward before because he was ashamed. Devon, who is watching the press release, breaks down crying and his mother holds him, asking him what is wrong. Ultimately, Ray Masters is arrested and Prince encourages the other victims to come forward with their stories because they shouldn't be ashamed, because the shame is not theirs since they didn't do anything wrong.
Cast
Main Cast
- Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson
- Danny Pino as Detective Nick Amaro
- Kelli Giddish as Detective Amanda Rollins
- Richard Belzer as Sergeant John Munch (credit only)
- Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola
- Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen
Recurring Cast
Guest Cast
- Dan Lauria as Coach Ray Masters
- Aaron Tveit as Stevie Harris
- Mark Blum as David Arnoff
- Mehcad Brooks as Prince Miller
- Dwight "Heavy D" Myers as Supreme
- Carmelo Anthony as Himself
- Chris Bosh as Himself
- Socorro Santiago as Domenica Ramos
- Justin Jones as Devon Tiswell
- Keith Jamal Downing as Marcus
- Guy Lockard as Davis
- Pedro Mojica as Dre
- Reynaldo Piniella as Jose Avilles
- Derrick Baskin as Uni #1
- William H. Burns as Uni #2
- Shauna Miles as Devon's Mother
- Dominique Pettway as Young Fan
- Chris Rivaro as Bailiff
- Michael Crowe as Reporter (uncredited)
References
- Serpico
- Maria Grazie
- Richie Ramos
- Ken Randall
- Elliot Stabler
- Teresa Randall
Quotes
- Detective Tutuola: Well, it's still a big stigma in the black and Latino communities. My son's gay, and he has to deal with that stuff on the streets everyday. He's the bravest man I know.
Background information and notes
- Danny Pino joins the cast as Detective Nick Amaro.
- The opening slideshow of Ray Masters has pictures of him with actor and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, former professional wrestler and Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura, and boxer and senator of the Philippines Manny Pacquiao.
- This episode marked Heavy D's final acting appearance before his death on November 8, 2011.
- At one point, Rollins mentions to Fin that she lost money on Prince during a game a few years earlier. This foreshadows her gambling problems, which she later discloses to both Fin and Cragen in the episode "Home Invasions".
Episode scene cards
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Riverbank State Park |
Home of |
Hope Town |
Players Only Club |
Grand Jury |
| Previous episode: "Scorched Earth" |
"Personal Fouls" Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 13 |
Next episode: "Blood Brothers" |