At the end of the story, Mr. Fisher seems to have turned his back on Erik. In fact, Paul compares his father to “those friends who abandoned Erik, who now regretted ever getting involved with him in the first place.” Why do you think Mr. Fisher reacts t

I'm not sure how much Mr. Fisher has abandoned Erik more than he is giving more attention to Paul. Certainly Mr. Fisher has re-evaluated Erik. For a long time he enabled Erik's sociopathic behavior as well as lived vicariously through Erik's football. Mr. Fisher finally saw Erik for what he was: a disturbed mean child. Mr. Fisher is partly responsible for the way Erik turned out and I think he is trying to make amends for it.