What The Heart Wants

A Call To Judgment (Part II)

After returning from recess, Judge Massiah-Jackson asked Brian to call his first witness.

Brian: I call Alexandra Krieger to the stand.

Ali walked to the witness stand and confirmed her intent to tell the truth.

Brian: Can you tell the court about your relationship with the defendant?

Ali: My first encounter with Mr. Orlandini was at the Philadelphia airport on November 7th, as part of a press conference held by the Hearts. Following that initial meeting, we crossed paths three more times over the next two weeks, all of them confrontational.

Brian: Confrontational in what way?

Ali: He purposefully sought out private information on myself as well as people close to me. He also made a nuisance of himself at a large-scale charity event hosted by our club, seeking to get individuals on the record concerning their sexual identities.

Brian: Describe to the court the confrontation between yourself and the defendant on November 20th.

Ali: A handful of us stayed in Philadelphia through the previous weekend and were scheduled to fly out on the 20th. At the airport, the defendant disturbed us having breakfast with more questions that no one was willing to answer. He then had the audacity to state that his problem with us was that we weren't willing to give him a good story about former teammates of mine. He got into a bit of a tete-a-tete with Steph McCaffrey before leaving us to finish our meal.

Brian: Was that your only interaction with the defendant that day?

Ali: No. He went down to wait for myself and my teammates in Concourse E, where we would be going to get to our gate to leave for Boston. I had been saying goodbye to my partner before joining Steph McCaffrey, Kristie Mewis, and Savannah Jordan. When I got to them, Steph was on the ground and Greg was in handcuffs. He berated me, calling me a slut and my girlfriend a hag, along with referring to all of us as dirty dykes.

Brian: No further questions.

David Jay: Ms. Krieger, did you not obstruct and obfuscate Mr. Orlandini's attempts to do his job and provide poignant information to his listeners and viewers on a regular basis?

Ali: I told him the first time he asked me about my sexual identity that it was a private matter that I would not comment upon. He chose not to take no for an answer, so I had to continually re-state my position every time he asked. To me, his constant asking of the same question and the showing-up in various places in order to confront me constituted harassment.

David Jay: On the day in question, did you not make physical contact with the defendant?

Ali: Only after his anti-gay rhetoric and the sight of his actions against my teammate.

David Jay: Yet now you seem quite comfortable in stating that you have a partner and are in fact gay. What changed between then and now?

Ali: At the time, I had been hassled by reporters across the country seeking out confirmation of a relationship between myself and one of my Orlando Pride teammates. I wasn't willing to be public about whether I was or was not with her because it would have defined my sexuality going forward, and I wasn't sure what that actually was. Now, I have figured that out with someone who matches me in ways that past relationships did not. I am confident about who and what I am, and I now have a woman by my side who I can be authentic with.

David Jay: No further questions.

Judge Massiah-Jackson: The witness may step down.