Sure, they heard about the exiled players. How they had written a group letter to principal Bejarano stating that "Coach Mike Allen has not responded to requests for an explanation" and that "we feel like our season is in jeopardy, something we would very much like to avoid from [sic] occurring." How they had gone as a group with one of the parents to talk with Allen, but the coach hadn't budged. (To both the administration and parents, Allen provided few specific examples of what the players had done wrong, arguing that the aggregate of many acts had led to the suspensions.) How some of them were texting Allen, asking to be allowed back on the team. How Ryan and his father, Linh Tran, eventually met with the coach without success, and each side had a different account of the meeting.