Kobe Bryant Charged with 1 count of class 3 sexual assault!!

Live News Conference (MSNBC webfeed) ^ | 7/18/2003 | Me

[Smogger]

Kobe Bryant Charged with 1 count of class 3 sexual assault!!

(4 to life)

[cherry]

"Also, remember Mark CHmura? He was charged too, but acquitted not because of mere lack of evidence, but the medical examinations of the alleged victim and her and her friends terrible credibility and changing stories."

that girl never, ever recanted her story....

CHmura got off because it was a drinking party and most of all the kids were zonkered....

Chmura never denied drinking with the teenagers or going into the hot tub scantily clad....

Athletes are fun to watch and I have a few that I think are outstanding individuals, but as a group, they leave much to be desired....

[techcor]

It was insider information rather than just a guess.

[cyncooper]

Why is everyone so touchy today

The media and their mis-reporting on the Iraq/uranium story.

I must confess I welcome this tabloid news as a respite from their relentless twisting of the facts regarding yellowcake. And I am touchy. Sorry!

[Chemist_Geek]

men in general think they can harm women

Excuse me?

[Rebelbase]

Go back to sleep.

[cinFLA]

Not everyone. I'm a big Laker fan and I had no problem believing he might cheat on his wife, but him being a rapist is pretty hard to believe, even with charges filed.

People find it hard to believe OJ murdered. People find it hard to believe that Scott Peterson may have murdered. People find it hard to believe that WJC may be a rapist ... It happens.

[albee]

" ...my guess is whatever occurred was 100% consensual. When he was "finished", Kobe tossed her out, which pissed her off to no end. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

Hey Ambrose, you are being paged by a recruiter from the Psychic Friends Network! I think he wants to talk to you about coming to work for them!

[Angelus Errare]

You're probably right, that'll make it easier to stomach the next few months of non-stop media coverage. Who knows, maybe they can find a link between Kobe Bryant, the DC snipers, the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping, and Scott Peterson.

[Miss Marple]

Well, if you had been listening to the media here in the states for the last week, you would be grateful for any other coverage, even car chases. It's gotten so bad that I won't even watch much of Fox.

The Washington media will be PO'd, but their stories aren't going to get coverage for a while. Right now I turned on Fox and they have all their legal analysts lined up and commenting.

I am grateful for small favors, and although I am sorry this sad incident happened, whether either party is at fault, I am looking forward to the end of the uranium brouhaha.

[RetiredArmy]

Have they revealed that Kobe already had told the police that he had sex with the woman?

He never had sex with that woman, Ms. Lewinski!! . . . Woops, wrong story. Sorry, my bad. Carry on.

[swheats]

Is the victim credible or a gold digger?

[american spirit]

It's a good thing some of these black athletes like Deion and Kobe have learned how to keep God handy whenever there's a crisis.

[Skywalk]

I'm tired of explaining this.

Sexual assault cases are not like other cases. If you just stay "objective" then you can not judge either person.
In other crimes, the state may have eyewitnesses that can be undermined without calling them "liars." Or there are crimes where there is a massive amount of evidence.
Such is not the case in sex. assault cases.

But if I presume Kobe innocent, how can I presume an accuser of innocence, since that would necessarily include believing her charges?

It's inherently contradictory.

I won't call her a gold-digger, as such. I think it's more likely she was ashamed of what happened.

[bedolido]

that wasn't fare... I was complaining to someone else (being a very devout coward I do this sometimes) and you responded... the other guy didn't.

There's nothing wrong with speaking your mind. If I thought there was I would have gone to DU and been a lemming. I just hate to see stupidity and failure. Kobe was stupid and his failure is complete (to quote Luke's father). It's sad all the way around. The victim is assaulted, the wife and kids are hurt and embarrassed and Kobe's life as he knew it is over (meaning fan appreciation, etc.). All for 20-90 seconds of lust. Dumb.

[Diverdogz]

COTNLMAO (Ccca-cola out the nose laughing my butt off).

[cinFLA]

Credit given. Also crediting EWING for the exact charge filed information.

[MotleyGirl70]

Spoken like a true feminazi.

That is not true at all. Please don't judge me personally when you know nothing about me. I'm anything but a feminazi and I actually take your comment as an insult.

[SarahW]

Wouldn't his using a woman like that and tossing her out like so much wadded-up tissue, be enough to turn you off of him, at least as any kind of decent man?

In the light most favorable to Kobe, he betrayed his wife and treated sex like it was nothing.

He's sunk forever in my esteem even if she was willing.

I tend to think he took a smile for an invitation, and she WASN'T willing; but even in the light most favorable to him, he's a nasty creep.

[george wythe]

Private Bryant has long journey ahead

Kobe Bryant was charged with one count of sexual assault Friday afternoon. SI.com spoke with Sports Illustrated's Jack McCallum about the developments.

SI.com: How surprised were you when you first heard Bryant was arrested on July 6?

McCallum: If we can believe that the President of the United States had oral relations in the Oval office, we can certainly believe that a pro athlete may have been involved in a sexual indiscretion. My reaction was not, "Oh my God." The thing that surprised me -- and everybody -- was the possible indication of a violent component, such as assault, to the accusations. I've reached the point where I'm beyond being surprised when an athlete is accused of a sexual indiscretion. But the violent aspect of the charge did surprise me.

SI.com: The entire episode seems to contradict the image Bryant has portrayed to us throughout his career. Do you agree?

McCallum: The one thing that Kobe has said through the press about this is, "You guys know me, I shouldn't have to say anything. You know I would never do something like that." Well, that isn't' true. Do we really know any of these guys? No. And we really don't know Kobe. He's a phantom behind dark glasses and incredible ability, and it's his right as an American to keep his private life secret and he's done that. However, his teammates don't really talk to him a lot. He has not spoken to new teammates Karl Malone and Gary Payton, as Shaquille O'Neal has. Kobe has not welcomed them into the fraternity, which isn't surprising. He doesn't do that. Although he has a pretty positive image, he won't have 10 teammates leaping to his defense and saying, "This isn't the Kobe I know." To a certain extent, we don't really know the private guy and his teammates don't, either.

SI.com: Were Bryant's lawyers surprised that their client was charged?

McCallum: The attorneys expressed total confidence that they will beat the charges. However, there was some surprise that Kobe had been charged given the fact that No. 1: He has high-priced, skilled L.A. lawyers, No. 2: There was that initial, for lack of a better word, mishandling of the case when the sheriff went for an arrest warrant right away instead of going through the D.A., and No. 3: There had been a lot of questions about the victim's emotional state and where she was coming from in all this.

SI.com: The city of L.A. and the Lakers were riding high on Thursday when they held a press conference for Malone and Payton. The next day Kobe is charged with sexual assault. How has this affected the city?

McCallum: L.A. is a movie town where emotions get jerked up and down and I can't think of any particular time when they've been more jerked up and down than they were in this situation. Thursday was one of the most exuberant times in L.A. sports history (to the extent that L.A. can get excited about sports and it can get excited about the Lakers). It was impossible to overestimate the mood at the press conference where Payton and Malone were introduced. Magic Johnson and James Worthy were there, as well. There was a spirit of "we were down last year and got eliminated, but we're gonna be back stronger than ever." But it's completely changed now because of the cloud hanging over Kobe. The mood has done a complete 180.

SI.com: If Bryant is found innocent, how easy do you think it will be for him to bounce back on the court?

McCallum: Kobe, by all accounts, despite whatever mistakes he may or may not have made, is the kind of guy who learns from mistakes. Somebody close to him once told me Kobe learned more from life's experiences than anyone he knew. If Bryant is cleared he will probably learn from the ordeal and be able to put it behind him better than a lot of players. Right or wrong, however, there is a portion of the populous that believes there are women out there who try to exploit pro athletes. If Kobe is exonerated because he has this reservoir of goodwill built up with the public, he'll be able to bounce back from this better than most other athletes.

SI.com: What impact will this have on the Lakers' upcoming season?

McCallum: What people have to remember is that this may not even affect the upcoming season. Look at Jayson Williams. He was charged with manslaughter almost a year and a half ago and we still don't know exactly what's going on with that case. There will be lengthy court proceedings and, other than the possible psychological fallout for Kobe, the chances that this will affect L.A.'s season (in terms of Kobe missing games to go to court or having to miss practice to meet with lawyers, etc.) are pretty slim. It's almost guaranteed that on opening day and throughout the entire season, we'll see Kobe joining Shaq, Payton and Malone in the starting lineup. Remember the court system moves slower than an overweight Shaq.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Jack McCallum covers the NBA for the magazine and is a regular contributor to SI.com.

[cherry]

"And let's say for a moment he is innocent of assault. What would that make the girl?"

so you agree that at this point, neither party should be subjected to either glorification or denigration....

I do get tired of people attacking the accusing party without any significant knowledge of that individual, just to be protecting some celebrity...

I will say that if she is a slut and a liar then so is he......nuff said....

he originally said..."nothing happened"....