Football season is coming up and Eric has been training hard to become the starting wide receiver. Coach Wagner stresses to the team to the importance of keeping their grades up. Eric is proud and happy when the coach tells him he's starting against Central High. But when Coach Wagner finds out Eric is taking a physics course he tells him to play it safe and drop that class. Eric is ready to quit the class when he has a conversation with his teammate Perkins who tells him the coach hasn't said a thing to him about dropping physics. Eric feels that the coach assumes that because he's black, he will have more trouble with a tough academic course than a white player would. He later tells Coach Wagner that he thinks his attitude toward black players is unfair, and he complains to his friends Ryan and Nicky too.

During the game against Central, Coach Wagner talks to Eric about respect, but Eric doesn't respond and he sits out the rest of the game. The next day Eric goes to see Screech abo