Jean was only sixteen, and I can’t help thinking that the Ravens probably enjoyed frightening him during the abuse by threatening to castrate him, knowing full well that his frightened mind and those wide, terrified gray eyes would believe anything they told him. Jean was alone in a foreign country, with only a limited grasp of the language and no understanding of how anything worked. he was just a child locked in a cage with predators, surrounded by people who seemed capable of doing whatever they wanted to him. maybe part of him knew he was a valuable player, that no one would do anything that would keep him off the court—but he was still only sixteen. and when you’re trapped in a place that is steadily stripping away your hope, you’ll believe almost anything. the Ravens knew that. they knew exactly what they were doing when they filled his head with threats and horror stories, watching little Jean hang on every word, terrified of all the ways they claimed they could take things from him. to them, it was probably just another form of entertainment.
