When news broke that NBA legend Kobe Bryant, 41, had died Sunday in a helicopter crash in California, millions of people expressed their grief on social media.
Others highlighted more negative aspects of his life and legacy. Bryant was accused of rape in Colorado in 2003 by a hotel worker. He admitted to having a sexual relationship with the 19-year-old employee but claimed their interaction was consensual. The case was dropped after Byrant's accuser declined to testify in open court.
More
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Quick! Find a way to discredit that black guy after he dies! Shame on you.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree with you more.
DeleteHe who is without sin...RIP Kobe and all the others lost in this tragedy.
ReplyDelete@11:41 that's a pretty racist thing to say! How about hey why are you finding a way to discredit this man after he dies?? WTF dies black or white have to do with it?
ReplyDeleteSo, just how many years of making tens of millions of dollars for bouncing a freakin' ball does it take to make up for a rape?
DeleteThey only reason he got off was that he paid her off in a civil settlement. He may have been a good ball player, but to put him on a high pedestal is foolish.
ReplyDeleteIf his accuser dropped the charges why would a few want to bring on harm to the family and his memory. You should go back under the rock you crawled out of 12:00.
ReplyDeleteThe accuser dropped the charges for money
DeleteMaybe that's all she wanted.
DeleteShe refused to testify in return for a settlement in a civil case for 2.5 million dollars. Her civil case was already filed before the criminal case was being heard.
ReplyDeleteThere will always be those that will defend their overpaid sports idols, no matter what the crime. Yes he admitted he did the crime and apologized to both her and her family, before paying her off for not testifying.Look it up. It is there for all to see. Sports fans will overlook murder, rape, and domestic abuse when it's their sports idol. Even in the idol's death, they will defend their idol. I, on the other hand, see him as he was. Just an overpaid basketball player/entertainer that got off with a serious crime just because of his "status." His fans and supporters would not excuse anyone else for those crimes, but by God, don't bring up Kobe's criminal past. That hurts their immoral feelings.
ReplyDeleteJanuary 28, 2020 at 12:19 PM:
ReplyDeleteLike to embellish, do you? She did not drop the charges. The prosecutor did when the victim refused to testify during the trial, only after being offered a settlement in the civil case that had been filed against him. He paid her $2.5 million to get her to refuse to testify. The "memory" of Kobe has to include the serious criminal background. otherwise, your memory is not complete. Selective memory is not for the record. His payment got him off the hook and allowed him to continue to play basketball, and not go to prison like anyone else would. When your idol admitted all that his accuser accused him of (after the criminal charges were dropped), he responded publicly that he thought the sex was "consensual" when he held her down over that chair and strangled her, leaving documented bruises on her neck. He didn't deny the strangulation, and said strangling women during sex "was his thing." Look it up. Denial of the facts just because you liked watching him play basketball is naive.
1:20 And the size of the rock he bought his wife..and the victim payout.. that was a pretty expensive trip down sodomy lane.
DeleteBut hey he without sin cast the first stone.
Kobe's past that included rape allegations, would be simply a byline to his death, except for all his idolizers denying that a rape even occurred. That just makes the rape an even bigger part of the memory of Kobe. And even more people will comment about it. Most of his fans want to deny it even happened. It is what it is. He did what he did (like so many superstar athletes). Consensual rape? Like the kind that leaves bruises on the victim's neck from being strangled during the act? Those are the facts, and yet his fans will defend the indefensible. I can't have any sympathy for people like that. I like what he became, but denying his past won't get him into heaven. He apologized for what he did to his victim, and to her family (admission of guilt) before he paid the victim 2.5 million to refuse to testify at the trial. That is not a man that was innocent of the charges brought against him.
ReplyDeleteThey are portraying this guy as a saint just because he could put a round ball through a hoop (maybe better than most), and raised his daughter as a real man should.
ReplyDeleteHis death was tragic, that is certain.
My problem is this: Can anyone name either one of the last two servicemen that lost their lives a few days ago in the name of our freedom in the middle east?
Hours upon hours (so far) in tribute to an overpaid athlete, but not two minutes of tribute to patriotic Americans that gave their lives.
This country is freakin' nuts.
Thank you to commenters at 1:05 PM, 1:20 PM and 4:17 PM for presenting the absolute truth. Well said.
ReplyDeleteWhatever he was or wasn't in life, he's gone now. Enough.
ReplyDeleteMy sentiments 4:17. I couldn't have said it better. Thank you. 😉
ReplyDeleteWell it is the truth, we are supposed to just forget it cuz he dies? Just like MLK and his ties to hookers, we're supposed to just forget that too?
ReplyDeleteYep, Just like Elvis and those little girls.
DeleteAnonymous Anonymous said...
ReplyDelete@11:41 that's a pretty racist thing to say! How about hey why are you finding a way to discredit this man after he dies?? WTF dies black or white have to do with it?
January 28, 2020 at 11:56 AM
The first thing out of your mouth is 'racist'? And you call someone else a racist? I may be wrong but it sounds like maybe you have some issues with race.
Kobe, his daughter, and 7 others perished in this tragic accident.
ReplyDeleteOne of my fears, though somewhat egotistical, is that I would die in a small plane crash when there is a celebrity aboard with me.
For all eternity, I would be remembered as "and others".
Anonymous Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteKobe, his daughter, and 7 others perished in this tragic accident.
One of my fears, though somewhat egotistical, is that I would die in a small plane crash when there is a celebrity aboard with me.
For all eternity, I would be remembered as "and others".
January 28, 2020 at 11:53 PM
One of my fears, though somewhat egotistical, is that I would die in a small plane crash when there is a celebrity aboard with me.
I don't think that is a fear. But yes, it does have something to do with your ego. Egos are the thing everyone has and it runs their life for the most part.
If a man can control his ego his life is much better. It requires a lot of effort. Looking deep within oneself and seeing what others see. Most won't like what they see. They will try to justify their actions, compare them to what others do, etc.
It's very hard to be totally honest with oneself. At least it is for me. I have been making an effort to do just that for a while now. And let me tell you, I am quite the asshole. Sad to admit but it is what it is.
Anyway, good luck to you and I hope you are not in any crash.
People on her hating really should be ashamed - but I guess that is what perfect people do.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous Anonymous said...
ReplyDeletePeople on her hating really should be ashamed - but I guess that is what perfect people do.
January 29, 2020 at 7:22 AM
You mean the ones who have 10 different versions of what happened? lol
No offense to anyone but they have been covering this wall to wall for a couple days now and it's really getting old.
ReplyDeleteThat is the real issue with society we place actors and athletes on this platform. When did you ever truly need either one them complete your life. Holly Wood has all these actors thinking they know what is best for America and Athletes that think they are politicians. I am truly sorry for the loss of of Kobe and his child. It was a horrible accident. We as Americans need to realize each and every one of us has value. So stop acting as if his death was any more important than your mother or father or the neighbor down the street. Those that made this a racial issue get over it stop holding your race down. The facts are the facts.
ReplyDeleteAnd surely that pilot would have never put that helicopter in the air under those conditions if his superstar passenger didn't demand it. Too bad for all 8 other passengers on that helicopter. For Kobe, not so much. It was Kobe that insisted on, and paid for, the flight. His girl's basketball game was too important to be missed, and he had the resources to make sure they got there. No heavy fog and traffic was going to stop the superstar from having his way. He always got his way. Until at the last moment, he realized that he wasn't ever going to get his way again. Life can suck sometimes, even for wealthy superstars. It's what makes believers out of the other 99%. Bad things don't only happen to the peons, although wealthy people tend to think so. Kobe's accident should be a reminder to them.
ReplyDeleteResponse to 5:30 AM:
ReplyDelete"...egotistical..." was meant jokingly. (Who the hell cares what damage has been done to one's ego when you're dead?)
A better word would've been "self-serving".
Um....that’s TWO words. As each word can “stand alone”, they are independent of one another. Although permitted to be hyphenated, that does not make it ONE word.
DeleteKobe thought that if he made enough money, everyone would forget his past. Millions of this fans did, apparently. I am not a sports fan, but I remember their superstar criminal backgrounds.
ReplyDeleteAnybody can say anything about a dead man. Dead men have no rights. You can't slander or libel a dead man. And no family or estate can change that. Unfortunately for Kobe's family and estate, his rape history will forever be part of his legacy. No amount of money changes that.
ReplyDeleteThis discreditation always happens when a famous person dies.JFK,John Lennon,Martin Luther King,Bobby Kennedy and on and on are prime examples.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteResponse to 5:30 AM:
"...egotistical..." was meant jokingly. (Who the hell cares what damage has been done to one's ego when you're dead?)
A better word would've been "self-serving".
January 29, 2020 at 4:56 PM
I have no idea what you are talking about.