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Charley Confronts Her Husband's Accuser

Season 1 Episode 106
CC | tv-pg
NBA superstar Davis West, who has been embroiled of late in a tawdry and possibly career-ending rape scandal, hasn't persuaded his wife, Charley, to give him a second chance. Desperate for a little affection from the Bordelon clan, Davis turns to his sister-in-law, Nova, for a sympathetic ear.

Nova recently published an exposé on how young black people are being pressured into plea bargains at alarming rates. As Davis and Nova hang out on the family's porch, Davis expresses a kinship with the men behind bars, claiming to be yet another example of a black man being treated unfairly.

"Micah showed me your article," Davis says. "It's good. I can really relate, you know? See how the system treats black men, especially after living through this witch hunt. You know what I'm saying? You're a black man accused of something, you must have done it."

Nova scratches her chin. "How'd you and Micah get here, Davis?"

"We flew," Davis responds.

"Which airline?" Nova asks.

"Um, private," Davis says.

Nova grunts, averting her eyes, and Davis, realizing how it must sound to her, feels compelled to qualify his decision. "We have a jet share program and a few other plans—I had to, you know? Too many paparazzi out."

Nova takes a sip from her plastic cup. "Yeah, that's what I thought," she says. "So you flew private, you have a driver waiting to take you back to Houston, probably staying in some fancy hotel in the city, and you're paying millions of dollars to pay off your accuser so that you don't have to stand trial. And you're sitting here comparing yourself to a 17-year-old kid without so much as a public defender because you're both black."

Davis fidgets in discomfort.

"Listen, I don't know what lies you have to tell yourself to get up each morning," Nova continues, "but let me point out the most obvious one. The system doesn't treat all black men alike, but you're so narcissistic, that you don't even recognize what your privilege buys you."

Nova takes one last sip from her cup, sets it down and levels one last intense glare at Davis as she walks off the porch.