Page 5 of Split Decision

Marin meets my eyes evenly. “I didn’t say she was.”

But she doesn’t say she isn’t, either. One thing I’ve learned since training under Mack is that I have to watch for what’s not there as much as for what is. I’m seeing those same things in my day-to-day interactions more and more.

Brandon leans forward, shrugs one shoulder, and softens his face. “It makes sense, Luke. Just for now.”

Just for now. Put my life with Andi on hold “just for now.”

“We need to assess and respond to the Commission politics for Luke too.” Brandon looks between Andi and me. The concern in his eyes is palpable.

“Their investigation is not random,” she says calmly after assessing the Commission language.

My chest constricts.

“You’re sure?” Andi asks.

“Yes.” No hesitation. “This is classic escalation through procedure.”

Her phrasing makes Andi go quiet.

Marin continues. “Your mistake right now would be an emotional reaction.”

I bristle slightly. She doesn’t flinch.

“Emotion creates footage. Footage creates and feeds the narrative. The narrative drives the story and gives plenty of fodder to convict you before a shred of evidence is presented. Strong reactions make good clips, even when they’re used out of context,” she says. “Those clips are forever.”

Marin opens her laptop and turns it toward us.

“Public opinion is already trending toward a conflict of interest,” she says, pulling up a graph. “That doesn’t mean people think either of you did anything wrong. It means they’re starting to connect your names. The Youth Outreach inquiry gives critics language to work with—enough to suggest an overlap of transgressions, even if none exists.”

“If you appear publicly united right now, the overlap becomes the story. The narrative becomes that your personal relationship is interfering with professional judgment, especially when you’re both embroiled in potential scandals. If you challenge this too aggressively, the response shifts to your behavior rather than the accusations. Either way, you lose credibility.”

She looks at me, not at Andi. “You’ve worked too hard for that fight to let optics derail it. Perception matters more to the public than truth. A public relationship amid dual crises makes you less credible.”

There it is—the pressure point we have to contain. The answer that makes sense to Brandon, and it’s exactly what he’s trying to get me to accept. I glance at Andi. She’s still, but not angry. She’s thinking, but her face remains expressionless. And that scares me more than if she’d started shouting.

Because I know Andi. I know her heart. I know her generosity. I know exactly what she’s thinking and feeling by her expression, the way she tilts her head, or the way she bites her lower lip. But I’ve never seen her face completely devoid of any emotion.

Marin closes her laptop. “You don’t fight this with outrage. You fight it with containment. You make yourself boring,” she says. “That’s how you survive this part.”

That word feels too familiar—like an ominous déjà vu I can’t put my finger on. Containment feels a lot like restraint.

Marin doesn’t ask permission to move to the kitchen table. She simply does, and we all follow without hesitation. She slides her laptop open again, as if she’s done this in a hundred houses before ours.

Brandon stands behind her, his arms folded, watching as if she’s about to perform something impressive. Andi stops near the kitchen counter. She’s not hiding. She’s just not sitting… or interacting with us yet.

Marin glances between us once before she starts typing.

“You need to saysomething,” she says, tone measured. “But you need to say very little.”

I lean forward. “Define ‘very little.’”

“Enough to appear cooperative, but not enough to create new angles for anyone to use against you.” She types as she talks. The sound of the keys is steady, controlled, like a metronome. When she lifts her fingers from the keyboard, she turns the screen toward me.

The word “DRAFT” is a watermark behind the statement. It feels a lot more like a brand, though.

I welcome the Georgia State Athletic Commission’s routine review and remain fully committed to transparency.

My focus remains on my upcoming fight and on fully cooperating with any inquiries.