Posted on 04/15/2016 2:22:00 PM PDT by NYer
On Wednesday, April 13 Kobe Bryant, one of the greatest athletes of all time, ended his 20-year basketball career with a bang, scoring 60 points in his last game.
While Bryant’s stats can be recited by many five-time NBA champion, two-time Olympic champion, 18-time All-Star and the third leading scorer in NBA history — few know about the role his Catholic faith played in helping him through one of his darkest hours.
Born in Philadelphia, Kobe Bryant was raised in a Catholic household and even spent some of his youth in Italy. Drafted into the NBA at the age of 17, he eventually married Vanessa Laine at St. Edward Roman Catholic Church in Dana Point, California. Two years later they had their first child. Bryant was at the top of his game and everything seemed to be heading in the direction of his dreams.
Then he made a big mistake.
In 2003, Kobe Bryant was accused of raping a woman in his hotel room, while he was in Colorado for knee surgery. He admitted having sex with the woman but denied rape. A judge eventually dropped the charges, but the woman went on to file a civil lawsuit against Bryant that was settled outside of court. In the midst of it all, he issued a public apology, stating that he was sincerely ashamed of what he had done.
The incident had major consequences as numerous sponsors abandoned him and his reputation was tarnished. In 2011, his wife filed for divorce.
Yet during one of the darkest moments of his life, Kobe Bryant turned to his Catholic faith. In an interview with GQ last year he explained:
“The one thing that really helped me during that process — I’m Catholic, I grew up Catholic, my kids are Catholic — was talking to a priest. It was actually kind of funny: He looks at me and says, ‘Did you do it?’ And I say, ‘Of course not.’ Then he asks, ‘Do you have a good lawyer?’ And I’m like, ‘Uh, yeah, he’s phenomenal.’ So then he just said, ‘Let it go. Move on. God’s not going to give you anything you can’t handle, and it’s in his hands now. This is something you can’t control. So let it go.’ And that was the turning point.”
After some rough years, Kobe Bryant reconciled with his wife, and they remain married to this day. Together they have founded the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation (KVBFF), which is dedicated to, among other things, helping young people in need, encouraging the development of physical and social skills through sports and assisting the homeless. Asked about this commitment in 2013, Bryant’s answer would likely have made Pope Francis very happy:
My career is winding down. At the end of my career, I don’t want to look back and just say, “Well, I had a successful career because I won so many championships and scored so many points.” There’s something else that you have to do with that.
[The homelessness] issue is one that kind of gets pushed on the back burner because it’s easy to point the blame at those who are homeless and say, “Well, you made that bad decision. This is where you are. It’s your fault.” In life, we all make mistakes and to stand back and allow someone to live that way and kind of wash your hands of it … that’s not right.
Throughout all of his trials, and perhaps even in response to them, Bryant has realized that fame and fortune were nothing compared to the importance of faith and family. When everyone else in the world abandoned him, the Catholic Church was always there.
He may be an All-Star and NBA legend, but even superstars can use the foundational support of faith-formation, and a good priest to turn to.
and also quiet..........
;)
No it is not but fortunately God forgives our sins when we sincerely repent.
No, it is not, but fortunately God forgives our sins when we sincerely repent. Criminal charges disposed of. Civil claims settled. Public apology. It is not as though he had served as a guard at Auschwitz or as a volunteer for Hillary.
Oh, and from my perspective, if the National Basketball Association were dissolved and not replaced, my life would not be diminished at all.
Apparently not. He has never been a public cheerleader for abortion. He has publicly repented his sin. He has sought the help of his pastor in reforming his life. Pelosi and Biden and John Kerry and Martin O’Malley and Rosa DeLauro and Patty Murray and Kristen Gillibrand and Little Dick Durbin and so many, many others: Not really!
His father came out and said that he didn’t his son marry a Hispanic!
Still repeating all the wild internet rumors that cross the transom eh?
Uh ... didn't his teammates pretty much feed him the ball all night?
I need to read up on his patron saint, St. Kobe. No doubt there is an article on him in The Catholic Encyclopedia.
Jobim, I thought the story was of contrition, repentance, healing and faith too. Uplifting. And that he reconciled with his wife. Oh, he’s not perfect? tsk tsk.
Don’t you mean “quiet”? LOL!
I tend to agree.
Yes I did. ;)
Wow. God bless you Kobe, you will be in my prayers. Good luck with your homeless ministry! I’m not going to judge you on your past, do great things in the future.
This pope is not Catholic. He is the anti-pope that we were warned about in the bible.
What a difference three decades makes. Back in the 1980s, we had Reagan, Thatcher and Pope John Paul II. Great leaders who understood the threat of communism and the evil it represents.
Now we have a communist president, a communist pope and a corrupt, immature wimp as PM of the UK who wants Europe to submit to the caliphate.
Sorry to get off topic.
I hope that Kobe and his wife were truly able to work it out and have found peace. The opportunistic, lying whore that accused him of rape is a disgrace to all other rape victims. He was vulnerable, made a poor choice, but from what the article says, he found redemption and strength in his Catholic faith. For that, I am happy for him. We are all sinners. God is always there to forgive those who are truly remorseful. I hope that this is the case with Kobe, and I wish him well. Others do not find redemption and destroy their lives.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.