then told him that, when he had first finalized the roster, my brother was the last one to be cut and hadn't made the team. But coach told him that he changed his mind because he liked my brother so much and wanted him on the team, so he he added his name back to the roster. He didn't cut anyone else, he just kept one more player than he had planned to.
So my brother went to every practice and game all season, yet never played. Coach did it because he liked my brother, which is nice . . . sort of. In the long run, it would have been kinder for the coach to cut him and save him the time and energy than to keep him on as effectively a mascot.