Brian Burnsed

Behind the crosstown success stories of Atlanta United and the Braves is a sense of division, of otherness, fueled by racial and political disharmony.

When James Hardy—the 41st pick in the 2008 NFL draft—turned up dead in a Fort Wayne river, friends and family faced some tough questions.

For the elite running back who once pulled on colored wigs and novelty glasses to embody playful alter egos, financial ruin turned life after the NFL serious—and nearly drove him to commit a violent act of revenge.