The question is not whether it was right or wrong for Kobe Bryant to grab a woman and have his way with her if she didn't consent to it, no matter how promiscuous she is. Of course that's wrong, and that question conceals the real problem here.
The real problem is that we have two people telling a different story and one has to be a liar. If she is the liar, it wasn't rape and no crime was committed. Is the promiscuous woman a liar or is the adulterous basketball star? I wasn't there. The jury wasn't there. It is his word against her word and the jury needs to believe her beyond a reasonable doubt. At that point, character matters.
Perhaps she was raped and if the jury doesn't believe her, that's a shame. But it's always a shame when the proverbial little boy who cries wolf gets eaten by a wolf because nobody believes he's being attached by a real wolf. Like the little boy that cried wolf, people make a character assessment based on past behavior and judges the truth of what someone says accordingly. It's not a question of whether Kobe Bryant had a right to rape her. It's a question of whether she is lying or not.
Thank you. It does appear at this very early point to be his word against hers ... and they may well decide this young woman is unstable given that she tried to kill herself (before) and had sex with someone else (after).
But if Kobe's guilt cannot be absolutely proved, he should be declared not guilty. Colorado has the toughest rape laws with mandatory sentences.
"It's a question of whether she is lying or not."
Well she's going to get up on the stand and swear to tell the truth, will Kobe?