He’s a 39-year-old former college football player who became a Marine and later a cop.
She’s a 63-year-old restaurateur with a knack for solving problems.
Together (and with help from her accountant husband), they form an unlikely partnership helping Cuban athletes defect to the United States to pursue their dreams.
Sports Illustrated went behind the scenes with Billy Henderson and Jo Hastings last year to chronicle how the pair enabled baseball prospect César Prieto’s daring escape to freedom in 2021. The chase for professional success can be unpredictable, as it is uncertain how much MLB teams are willing to pay for the prospects’ services.