The Kobe Debacle

Here we go again, in what way? In the sense that there's general madness being generated by the media- I agree. I just don't remember anything exactly like this - an accused man and his wife getting this sympathetic hearing on the networks/cable. Its like "screw justice! we want a show! " How in the hell can jurors not be prejudiced one way or another? It's like that's the whole intent of all the attention - to screw up any chance of objectivity. I hear in England there's auniversal ban of the press at certain stages of a case - certainly at this stage, while the investigators and lawyers are still putting cases together.

And as to that point about "men in his position just do it", I think that's kinda shaky reasoning. Men in what "position"? rich? what do you base that on? and do you think women are somehow not cheaters, or that economic class dictates fidelity insome way? Please, 'splain s'more.

Dlowan--

Kobe's basketball team has either hired a spinmaster to improve his image or they have a hired tongue on staff, ready to spin distasteful facts into high drama.

He seems to be a very well paid young man, but he is not a sophisticated young man. Evidently he is estranged from his parents who objected to him courting a high school girl--beautiful but young--to be his wife.

He probably doesn't realize that one of the questions each juror will be asked is, "Did you see that press conference?" and that the D.A. will want those who did see the press conference to be barred from the jury.

People who avoid pre-trial publicity are often not ideal jurors. Look at the O.J. case.

Remember George VI who was being blackmailed about his indiscret letters written to a married woman? "Publish and be damned?" he roared. That was a king. A celebrity is but a poor shadow of a king.

Unsophisticated Kobe thinks the Jerry Springer show is a mirror of the way the world works.

Snood, I'd have to do some research to support my immediate feeling of deja vu. The first thing that comes to mind is Michael Jordan and the blackmail suit.

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wbur/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=505975

Stoic Juanita by his side at the press conference, blahbedy blah.

Still - speculation. And, we don't know who made the decision to do the press conferences. If it was, as you seem to believe "unsophisticated" Kobe's idea, that would be very strange - seeing as he is probably surrounded by high powered advisors.

He absolutely is "handled" by high-powered advisors.. Maybe it was the Lakers owners, Nike people, McDonald's people, who knows, but someone from his camp is making decisons and orchestrating his every move.

When I say men in his "position", I'm talking about jocks, musicians, celebrities, politicians, etc, and the never-ending, day in day out parade of groupies. Women celebs just don't seem to get the same desparate, in-your-face opportunities. I sincerely doubt that male groupies are combing the halls of the Hilton for a shot at Brittany Spears or the ladies of the WNBA.

Oh yeah Soz - I'd forgotten about that'n. 'course, that was ALL about reputation salvaging - this time they're talkin about 4 years to life.

I don't fault him for the press conference.
If I were him--and innocent of the charges--I'd be sick to death that the accusation was out there, and would want to say in public I was innocent. Then, of course, he has to address guilt and remorse of adultery...

The unanswered charge would make a lot of people assume guilt.

Of course, good taste is completely out the window.

The people here who call Kobe unsophisticated do not seem to see the irony in their public discussion of his adultery.

Sure, it's an issue that is best kept private but traditionally discussion of someone's adultery is not public either. I'd say celebrity makes this a special case.

The DA had a press conference, the defense had a press conference. The whole town knows the victim and swear to her wholesomeness. Last I read, she was sent to his room to deliver something - at his request?

The whole sport world knows Kobe and his (now questionable) wholesomeness.

The DA wants a local trial, the defense vehemently wants a change of jurisdiction. The defense has multi-million $, the DA has an entire annual budget of $2.9 million. The defense will swamp the court with legal maneuvers - other DA's have agreed to help the local DA meet ends.

Will there be a misdemeanor settlement - all records sealed?

The beat goes on -

The bit about wholesomeness, or the lack of, bothers me related to rape.
Whores can be raped.
There's something fundamentally wrong with bringing the reputation of people into the mix in a case like this.

We're not supposed to take 'other stuff' into consideration. Just the facts of the case.

If it is unknow, Sofia, you are correct. But, we don't live in caves and we do know these things about people. Kobe is a world figure and the victim is well know in her community. Can't make the story blank after these things are known.

I can't speak for others, but as to myself - I can "know" a person and still weight the "facts". No problem...........These are the people both the defense and prosecution want on the stand if they are trying a case on the facts!!!!!!

BTW, the "wholesomeness" of both these individuals is, IMHO, something that makes this case very interesting!

BillW, I don't think it's going to be a easy case of finding and determining the facts for the jury, because both sides are going to throw mud. There's a well known defensive tactic that is used to find out what other "affairs" this young woman had with other men and under what circumstances. The prosecution is going to dig for other women that Kobe had affairs with. Whether they find any will be interesting for both sides. If both sides finds more, it's going to become even more difficult to assess rape or consent. c.i.

I hear you c.i., this stuff happens - of course. Colorado has in the law that the victim can not be "tried" in a rape case. That does not mean that very thing will spill out. Kobe has to be seen as doing the right thing here. He will be seen as dastardly, despicable and desparate if he mud slings to much. He has much more to loose. His best bet, IMHO, is to accept a misdemeanor, seal the case and get out of media attention - ASAP!

The relative inexperience and seeming lack of guile in both is what makes me think that the most likely scenario for what happened was that it was unplanned, impulsive mutual lust, followed by rejection by Kobe, and then the girl reacting by saying she was raped - to save face. I think that in the mind of a 19 year old, it would look better for her to have been raped by Kobe Bryant, than to have been used and discarded.

Might be the break the defense needed - this just in... The accuser took an overdose a couple of months before the incident with Kobe, and is reported to have been going through a bunch of emotional upheaval. Might be the chink in her credibility that could save Bryant's butt. We'll see...

http://espn.go.com/nba/news/2003/0720/1583145.html?partnersite=espn

Ack. I'm sympathetic to Kobe, but that's exactly the kind of thing that I hate about these cases. Maybe the fact that she was vulnerable is why he raped her. That's a documented thing, I think. (Dlowan?)

Hate to think he's capable of that, though. But the whole "put her reputation through the wringer" thing... blech. If he did it (rape), it makes everything that much worse, as Dlowan talked about earlier. If he didn't... well, I guess if he didn't, whatever works.

(HATE HATE HATE these cases. Used to live in a housing co-op where this came up -- he said/she said -- knew both people involved -- YUCK.)

Well, I don't like Kobe Bryant, but it also needs to be said that "acting out" sexually is something that females do when not 100% emotionally, just as men act out violently.

Eh?

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-kobeintro20.html

I think it's not about the aftermath, that he didn't call her the next morning or whatever and she got mad. I think that some bad stuff happened right then, and while I still allow for the possibility that he thought at the time that it was consensual, something happened that shook her.