Tommy Baker's Hardest Fight (Season 23, Episode 12)
Premise: When a mixed martial arts star who meant to come out after his biggest fight is found assaulted, SVU looks past a staged hookup to the people closest to him.
- Air date
- Season/Episode
- Season 23, Episode 12
- Starring
- Capt. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), Sgt. Odafin “Fin” Tutuola (Ice-T), Det. Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish), Det. Joe Velasco (Octavio Pisano), Chief Tommy McGrath (Terry Serpico)
- Guest stars
- Cole Doman as Tommy Baker, G.K. Umeh as Phil Diaz, Dana Melanie as Chrissy Baker, Ignacyo Matynia as Ricky Nowak, Chance Kelly as Duke Baker
- Director
- Ed Bianchi
- Writers
- Story: Denis Hamill & Monet Hurst-Mendoza & Kathy Dobie & Micharne Cloughley; Written by: Candice Sanchez McFarlane & Bryan Goluboff
Summary
“Tommy Baker’s Hardest Fight” opens on the eve of a title rematch between Tommy Baker, a fighter from Georgia coming back from a shoulder injury, and champion Kiki Alves. Rollins, who grew up near Tommy’s hometown, watches at a bar with Velasco, but Tommy never shows. Near midnight he is found barely conscious in his pickup truck by the side of a road with his pants down. Doctors find a serious head injury and severe anal injuries, and the Grindr app is open on his phone. Chief McGrath, under pressure from reporters, wants a fast arrest.
Tommy’s wife, Chrissy, says she knows he is gay and supports him, and that for the past year he has been seeing his physical therapist, Phil Diaz. Phil says Tommy planned to come out in the ring after a win. TARU finds the Grindr account was opened only the day before, suggesting a staged hookup. Fighter Ricky Nowak says Tommy argued with league co-owner Jax Bell that morning; Bell says Tommy wanted to back out of the announcement, fearing his father, Duke, would kill him. Blood turns up in the basement gym of Tommy’s building. Duke admits he was hard on his son but says he has pancreatic cancer and came to make amends.
Tommy’s spending leads to a $10,000-a-month Porsche driven by Ricky, and Chrissy admits she has been seeing Ricky and paying for his lifestyle. Ricky flees and is caught at the train station after buying a ticket to Tampa on Chrissy’s card. He blames Phil and Chrissy. Confronted in the hospital chapel, Phil admits he felt used when Tommy refused to leave Chrissy, took gifts on Tommy’s cards with Ricky, and met Tommy in the gym to apologize when Tommy found out; Ricky hit Tommy with a weight, and Phil cleaned the gym while Ricky staged the scene.
Meanwhile McGrath tells Benson about a fight with his drunk teenage daughter that ended with him forcing her door, and Fin has heard that McGrath had the local police report the call as unfounded.
Spoiler, the ending: Phil takes a deal to testify against Ricky, and Carisi expects no trial. Tommy recovers, and he and Chrissy plan to move back to Georgia to be with Duke. Benson keeps McGrath’s secret and suggests anger management; he agrees to look into it. Tommy posts a video introducing himself as a gay man, Chrissy’s husband and a sexual assault survivor.
Why it stands out
- Rollins says she grew up in Loganville, Georgia, near the fighter’s hometown.
- Chief McGrath’s home life comes into view as he confides in Benson about his teenage daughter.
- Cole Doman plays Tommy Baker, with Chance Kelly as his father, Duke.