RIP Kobe Bryant

I remember, and agree with you regarding this. It will always be a taint on Kobe and his reputation -- one that others will tend not to touch just because the charges were dismissed. But nonetheless, there is/can be some grey area, and another side, in these cases, and TigerVols' post was a reminder of that.

 

Not Complicated
Kobe Police File Released

 

Yes. ... i.e., all the above.

I've waffled back and forth with this. Never forgave the crap that occurred in Colorado, and strongly suspect the victim was paid off in exchange for not testifying. Could be incredibly full of himself as a player.

Caught crap from a couple of colleagues because they knew I didn't like Kobe for those reasons. No apologies. But we saw that he dropped a lot of haughtiness and other stuff from his playing days as soon as he hung up his sneakers. Tried to do stuff of substance with production and such as opposed to going for lowest common denominator in an attempt to simply cash in. Doted on his family, developed relationships with players and did fairly well to adjust to life after basketball.

It leaves ... a victim in Colorado and attempted whitewashing of a sexual assault/rape. Did he ever want to own up to that, or did his stance prevent him from doing so unless he wanted to acknowledge precisely what took place? He claimed it was consensual ... but the fact that we never heard the other side of the story will always bring that claim into question.

 

I go back-and-forth on situations like this.

I think it's important not to sanitize history and people's pasts. I hate the way we deify athletes and celebrities. But I also believe it's important not to speak ill of the deceased, at least in the immediate aftermath of their passing. Any nuanced message will get lost in the noise.

I truly hope there are some pieces down the road that examine Kobe Bryant's complex past and how we evaluate someone who was a cultural icon to many and a symbol of abuse to others. I just don't know if the time for that is hours after his death is announced.

 

What is the other side?

 

Having said that what he's accused of is rape, there's still a time and a place.

And if your instinct is to rush out and scream "RAPIST" at this news, I wouldn't want you in my newsroom because your timing and judgment are so incredibly bad.

 

If you are willing to speak I’ll of them when they are alive why would you not speak illof them when they are deceased?

 

I think that after he went through the rape trial, etc., he did become a strong family man, dedicated to his wife and kids. He worked through this mistake, and others. I didn't like a lot of things he did in his life, but he seemed to be a solid role model the past few years.

The other passenger was John Altobelli, veteran baseball coach at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa. Probably Altobelli's daughter was the fifth victim. I think she was a basketball teammate of Bryant's kid.

Jerry West told Jim Hill that the most amazing thing he recognized about Bryant was that he grew up after coming into the league at age 18.

 

Was precisely my point previously.

 

Good thing this isn’t a newsroom

 

Sheriff is saying nine victims. Won’t confirm names until coroner IDs bodies.

ETA: Sorry, he said there were nine people listed on the flight manifest.

 

Usually it's for the surviving members of their family. In this case, specifically Bryant's kids. We don't know the life they had with him. Certainly none of them were alive when the rape incident happened. They knew a different man than the one we were exposed to in that incident.

So I'm sensitive to what they might hear or see at this age. If the kids are grown, maybe it's a different story. But when they're just children....I just don't think it's right.