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Dean McKenna : Not at all. To me, family is what you make it. Family is love, commitment, showing up when someone needs you. The science is just that—science.

Ms. Mason : You are not biologically related to Gigi Cannon’s daughters, are you?

Dean McKenna : I am not.

Ms. Mason : But you consider them family ?

Dean McKenna : Absolutely.

Ms. Mason : And as your family, do you see it as your responsibility to love them? Commit to them, show up when they need you?

Dean McKenna: Without a doubt. When I married Luke, I put a ring on his finger to signify my devotion to him. That same day, I gave Lemmie, Mellie and Ollie each a bracelet to signify my devotion to them, too.

Ms. Mason : So, you consider the girls your kids?

Dean McKenna : I don’t consider them my kids, Ms. Mason. They are my kids.

Ms. Mason : I have to admit, I’m a little star struck. I have a Spin Sync bike at home and take your classes everyday. You’re quite the celebrity, Mrs. Yates.

Kira McKenna-Yates : It’s McKenna-Yates. And you can just call me Kira.

Ms. Mason : Kira, then. You were friends with Gigi Cannon before her death, correct?

Kira McKenna-Yates : Yes. Gigi and her girls moved into the house next door a few years ago, and I took her under my wing. I inducted her into my girl gang—The Pussy Posse—and…fuck. Shit, can I say pussy in court?

Ms. Mason : There’s a first time for everything.

Kira McKenna-Yates : Anyway, Gigi joined my group of girlfriends. We’re all moms and aunties and we take care of each other. Lemmie and Mellie are the same age as my daughter, Cami, so they became friends, too.

Ms. Mason : This supportive group of moms and aunties…does that support extend to Luke Cannon, now that he is the guardian of Gigi’s children?

Kira McKenna-Yates : Of course. The Pussy Posse takes care of our own, and Luke is one of us.

We’re always ready to swoop in and help out.

And we’re all connected in one way or another.

Luke was my brother’s best friend before they fell in love, he played on the NFL team that my best friend and her husband co-own, and so on.

We’re a tangled up group in the best way.

Ms. Mason : Living next door, you must see the children more than anyone besides Luke and Dean. How do they seem to you, after the loss of their mother? Well-adjusted? Sad? Confused?

Kira McKenna-Yates : They’re so young. Ollie is still a baby, but damn she’s the sweetest baby on earth.

Always babbling and smiling. Lem and Mel…

they miss their mom. They ask about her a lot.

Th ere’s a wall of photos in my house, and Gigi is in half of them.

Whenever they’re over, they like to look at them and talk about their mom.

They have their moments when they’re sad, as we all do.

Gigi’s death left a hole in all of our hearts.

But overall, they’re the happiest kids I know.

They love to sing and play and tell me stories about their Uncle Lukey and their best buddy, Dean.

Ms. Mason : So you’d say that the children seem to be living a good life, despite their loss?

Kira McKenna-Yates : I think the children are living the best lives they possibly can. They have my brother and Luke to thank for that, as well as their mother for leaving them with the person she knew would love them most in the world.

Ms. Mason : James, can you tell us what you do for work?

James Adler : I am a full-time husband to my beautiful wife, Georgie. I also teach fitness classes at Spin Sync here in the city, I own the San Francisco Redwoods football team .

Ms. Mason : Did you own the team when Luke Cannon was still a part of it?

James Adler : I did. Our first year was Luke’s last.

Ms. Mason : How did you find working with Luke?

James Adler : It was a rough year all around. The team was going through changes, both administrative and on the field. Luke’s injury the season prior kept him on the sidelines, which was frustrating for him. It was frustrating for all of us.

Ms. Mason : Did Luke ever take his frustration out on the team?

James Adler : On the team? No.

Ms. Mason : How about you, then? Did Luke ever take his frustration out on you?

James Adler : Dan Elliot–the Redwoods head coach at the time–felt some of the brunt of Luke’s frustration.

Ms. Mason : And why do you think that is?

James Adler : Luke wanted to retire. His injury took him out of the game, and he was doing all the right things.

The surgeries, the physical therapy, but it wasn’t working.

He couldn’t play, and he wanted to be done.

I wanted to keep him on for the last year of his contract in hopes that he’d make a recovery and re-sign .

Ms. Mason : Did Luke ever make you feel threatened or unsafe?

James Adler : No.

Ms. Mason : Did his actions make you question the safety of your team and staff?

James Adler : No.

Ms. Mason : Would you describe Luke as someone who is combative, angry, or unpredictable?

James Adler : Not at all.

Ms. Mason : Is Luke the kind of person you would trust around your children?

James Adler : My kids love Luke. Every Friday, he’s all they talk about since they know they’ll see him at ballet class. He’s my son’s favorite person to practice his lifts with. Luke is on the approved list of babysitters, for sure.

Ms. Mason : Is Luke the kind of person you would work with again?

James Adler : Considering he just signed a multi-year contract to come join my coaching staff, that would be an enthusiastic yes.

Ms. Mason : Mr. Lawson, you had one hell of a rookie season with the San Francisco Redwoods, didn’t you?

Breaker Lawson : Please, call me Breaker. And yeah, it was a trip, to say the least.

Ms. Mason : You were brought on as a third-string quarterback, correct?

Breaker Lawson : Yes.

Ms. Mason : And yet, you ended up starting in thirteen of the seventeen regular season games, as well as the Redwoods playoff run that season, right?

Breaker Lawson : Yes, ma’am.

Ms. Mason : Why is that?

Breaker Lawson : Our team suffered an unfortunate string of injuries that took some of our players out of the game. I stepped up to help my teammates out in a time of need.

Ms. Mason : Was one of those injuries the torn LCL suffered by Luke Cannon?

Breaker Lawson : It was.

Ms. Mason : Were you aware that Luke’s injury would have an impact on your personal season?

Breaker Lawson : I was made aware of the situation early on, yes.

Ms. Mason : Did you work with Luke during that season?

Breaker Lawson : Very closely, yes. Even though he was on IR—sorry, the injury reserve list—Luke was at training camp and every practice, every game. He helped me a lot with my technique and gave me more than my fair share of pointers.

Ms. Mason : Even though your success as the Redwoods quarterback was a direct result of his own dwindling career, Luke helped you?

Breaker Lawson : He did, in more ways than one.

Luke spent a lot of time being pissed off that year, but he was never anything but professional and kind to me.

There’s no way in hell that the team would have had the success that we had without Luke on board.

And can I just say, he was a big inspiration to me while I was playing in college.

Being an out, queer professional athlete is not for the faint of heart.

Luke’s bravery in living his authentic life has helped pave the way for many other queer athletes in many sports, my partner—Lennon Griffith—and I included.

I look forward to working with Coach Cannon this season.

DIRECT EXAMINATION

BY Mr. Denno n

Mr. Dennon : Levi Connelly, you were thirteen years old when your sister kidnapped you in the night, correct?

Luke Cannon : My legal name is Luke Cannon. I’d prefer to be referred to by my name from now on.

Mr. Dennon : Answer the question, Mr. Cannon.

Luke Cannon : I was thirteen years old when my sister and I left home together.

Mr. Dennon : And at any point, did you wonder how your parents might feel, knowing that their daughter kidnapped their son from his bed?

Luke Cannon : Gigi didn’t kidnap me. I went with her willingly.

And I’d imagine that Joseph and Rebecca didn’t mind.

They never looked for us. Never sent out a search party or an AMBER alert.

No detectives or private investigators came knocking.

I wonder how long it took them to realize we were gone.

Mr. Dennon : That’s quite a blasé outlook you have there, Mr. Cannon. So if Lemmie and Mellie were to kidnap their younger sister in the middle of the night and steal her away, would you be fine with it? I mean, as you point out, it’s all semantics? Correct?

Luke Cannon : I will never fail so spectacularly as a parent that my children will ever think that they will be safer away from me. And if I do? Then I deserve to lose them.

Mr. Dennon : Samantha, if you could. Please tell the court how you know Mr. Dean McKenna.

Samantha Harris : He was my boyfriend in college. We were in love, and I was planning on following him wherever we went when he entered the NFL draft.

Mr. Dennon : And why did that relationship end?

Samantha Harris : I was pregnant, and Dean didn’t want anything to do with it.

Mr. Dennon : That must have been hard. Why do you think he’d want nothing to do with a baby that you created together?

Samantha Harris : He said that the baby and I would hinder his NFL success and bring shame to his family’s legacy. He basically told me to get rid of it or deal with it on my own.

Mr. Dennon : May I ask, what happened to the baby?

Samantha Harris : After Dean left me high and dry, I had to drop out of school. I couldn’t get a job, and I couldn’t afford a child. I gave the baby boy up for adoption.

Mr. Dennon : Was Dean involved in that decision at all?

Samantha Harris : No, sir.

Mr. Dennon : And, to your knowledge, has he tried to have contact with the child?