# An open letter to Kobe.... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 19, 2003, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-open-letter-to-kobe/189541 "2003-07-19T04:07:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![theendisnear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a4c791/32.png) [@theendisnear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theendisnear)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-open-letter-to-kobe/189541/21 "2003-07-19T06:33:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by treis \* > \*\*First off theendisnear pony up a cite if you’re going to accuse him of lying. > > Yosemitebabe, Its stupid I agree but holding him to a higher moral standard than anyother human just becuase he can play basketball extremely well is ridiculus. \*\* Huh? i thought people where complaining because he said he didnt have sex with her, then when the DNA came out he admited to having an affair with her. I was defending the guy if ya didn’t notice 😛 ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-open-letter-to-kobe/189541/22 "2003-07-19T06:35:49Z")
> [@](#): > > It isn’t just thumbing your nose in the face of being ALLOWED to make millions of dollars playing a game Well which game were you talking about? Bocchi Ball? What exactly again are you pitting him as? A human being fucking up? Or some hyped up celebrity thats supposed to perfect? ---
**Author:** ![Faruiza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@Faruiza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Faruiza)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-open-letter-to-kobe/189541/23 "2003-07-19T06:43:00Z")
Nope…forget going and getting some sleep. I’ll post a cite now. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030718/ap\_on\_sp\_ba\_ne/bkn\_bryant\_arrested\_9 Towards the end of the story…he denies it. Oh, wait…here’s a better one. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030713/ts\_nm/nba\_bryant\_dc\_2 ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-open-letter-to-kobe/189541/24 "2003-07-19T06:49:54Z")
**DAMMIT!!!** The only reason I started drinking Sprite is because I wanted to be like Kobe. And now he betrays the trust I placed in him to be a clean, upstanding arbiter of my carbonated beverage choices. I guess I’ll have to go back to the generic stuff. ---
**Author:** ![cadolphin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c37758/32.png) [@cadolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cadolphin)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-open-letter-to-kobe/189541/25 "2003-07-19T06:49:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Faruiza \* > \*\*Nope…forget going and getting some sleep. I’ll post a cite now. > > http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030718/ap\_on\_sp\_ba\_ne/bkn\_bryant\_arrested\_9 > > Towards the end of the story…he denies it. > > Oh, wait…here’s a better one. > > http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030713/ts\_nm/nba\_bryant\_dc\_2 \*\* From your 2nd link > [@](#): > > LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Speaking for the first time since his arrest for sexual assault, Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant (news) told Sunday’s Los Angeles Times that he was innocent, saying “I would never do something like that.” Semantics. I take this to mean he wouldn’t rape her. That’s what he was accused of. He wasn’t being accused of adultery. ---
**Author:** ![Faruiza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@Faruiza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Faruiza)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-open-letter-to-kobe/189541/26 "2003-07-19T06:52:40Z")
> [@](#): > > I do not watch basketball…don’t like it. I do not know who most of the players are, short of the usual suspects that apparently have more talent than most players. This being said, I’m pitting you as the piece of shit you are as a (I’m ashamed to say) member of the human race. You wanna start talking about which game? I implore you, treis. Read, damn you, read. What difference does it make? You keep going on and on about a “mistake”. Since, (and I am taking a shot in the dark, here.) YOU haven’t attained fame or role model status to sheep and children, you can squawk about “mistakes” all you want. It makes no nevermind. Someone, somewhere is going to have to explain to their kid what sexual assault is and why is Kobe a bad man? Sounds like the ramblings of a guilty concience…but I digress. ---
**Author:** ![cadolphin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c37758/32.png) [@cadolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cadolphin)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-open-letter-to-kobe/189541/27 "2003-07-19T06:56:00Z")
Damn! I hit submit instead of preview… I wanted to add that if he is found guilty of raping her, then he should be treated like anyone else (IMO). No special considerations, etc. Give him the same punishment you would any one. At the same time, if he’s found innocent of rape, I can think of a lot of explanations for a human being who makes a really horrible decision. That doesn’t make adultery right or acceptable, but that isn’t a criminal offense. Kathy ---
**Author:** ![vandal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/858c86/32.png) [@vandal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vandal)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-open-letter-to-kobe/189541/28 "2003-07-19T10:10:50Z")
**Faruiza** , you’re getting your panties in a wad over something that you’re totally taking out of context. You say that you’re pitting him because he was lying? Well, in both articles you cite, he is quoted as saying: _“I would never do something like that.”_ Then, in the second article… _“When everything comes clean, it will all be fine, you’ll see”_ _“But you guys know me, I shouldn’t have to say anything”_ _“Man there’s a lot of crazy stories out there”_ I fail to see how any of these statements can be construed as lies. Those are his responses to what he is being accused of. Apparently, he belives the sex was consensual; the woman thinks otherwise. I guess we’ll see what happens. ---
**Author:** ![Bren\_Cameron\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@Bren\_Cameron\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bren_Cameron_1)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-open-letter-to-kobe/189541/29 "2003-07-19T13:14:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yosemitebabe \* > \*\*I go for town in England. I like the sound of that. Would it be in Kent? \*\* I think it would be in Somerset, near Gurney Slade. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-open-letter-to-kobe/189541/30 "2003-07-19T13:34:08Z")
I agree wholeheartedly that adultry is not a ‘mistake’ and calling it such attempts to minimize something heinous. And Bryant is an idiot. When you are as famous as he is, you really don’t get to keep any secrets in this day and age. He should have known that if was gonna play around, it was come out. As far as the rape charge, man I just don’t know. I find it hard to believe that a man would rape when women around the freakin country are thowing themselves at him. (I guess I wouldn’t make a good juror) But anything is possible. I do believe that people can repent their surly ways and, if contrite, can be forgiven for them. That’s for the adultry and stupdity. If he did the rape, he’s gotta go to the pokey! ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-open-letter-to-kobe/189541/31 "2003-07-19T13:46:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spooje \* > \*\*I find it hard to believe that a man would rape when women around the freakin country are thowing themselves at him. \*\* I’m not applying this specifically to Bryant, but there are many men with his ability to “pull” who can’t fathom that any woman could or would ever say no to them, and consequently interpret “no; don’t; stop!” as “No, don’t stop!” ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-open-letter-to-kobe/189541/32 "2003-07-19T13:57:15Z")
It’s actually **Cunting Arse** , which is near **Greater Cunting** and **Cunting-on-the-Water**. It is indeed in the county of Cunt. Er, I mean Kent. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-open-letter-to-kobe/189541/33 "2003-07-19T13:57:52Z")
True. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-open-letter-to-kobe/189541/34 "2003-07-19T14:17:52Z")
I want to put aside the issue of possible sexual assault for a moment, and assume the sex was consensual. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by treis \* > \*\*Did you not read the article the man made a mistake and poured his heart out on national television apolgizing to his wife. There are thousands and thousands of adulturies in the U.S. that wouldn’t be man enough to say that to his wife in their own home let alone on national T.V. \*\* Well, the fact that he poured his heart out on national television, rather than in the privacy of their living room, suggests to me that the whole thing was done more for the benefit of his sports-star image than for his wife and his marriage. Gotta protect those multi-million dollar endorsements, ya know! > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cadolphin \* > \*\*And, IMHO, that really is between his wife and him and God to work out. \*\* and > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by theendisnear \* > \*\*He doesn’t have to admit shit to anyone but his wife. Hell yes he lied to the press, i’d fucking lie too. No i take that back, i’d tell the press to go fuck themselves and that my personal life is my own god damn bussiness. You want to be mad at him, wait until he is convicted of rape. Its idiotic to be mad at someone for lying about something they shouldn’t have to answer in the first place. \*\* Yes, you’re both correct. And this is why the whole TV apology strikes me as little more than a big fat publicity stunt. I actually think that debacle was more humiliating for his poor wife than the fact that he cheated on her in the first place. Isn’t it amazing how many adulterers are only sorry for their actions _after_ they get caught. They can fuck around for weeks or months or years on end, but their conscience doesn’t seem to really trouble them until they get busted. However this whole thing turns out, it won’t come as much of a shock. If it turns out that Bryant is (now) telling the truth, and that the sex was consensual, it makes him just another selfish moron in a long line of selfish morons. It is turns out that he did sexually assault her, it makes him just another violent asshole in a long line of violent assholes. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spooje \* > \*\*I find it hard to believe that a man would rape when women around the freakin country are thowing themselves at him. \*\* and > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rilchiam \* > \*\*I’m not applying this specifically to Bryant, but there are many men with his ability to “pull” who can’t fathom that any woman could or would ever say no to them, and consequently interpret “no; don’t; stop!” as “No, don’t stop!” \*\* I have to go with **Rilch** on this one, if only because **spooje** ’s comment could, in the hands of a stupid juror (and there are plenty of them around) be interpreted to mean that famous people should be treated differently in cases like this. I know that we need to allow any accused the presumption of innocence, but to add another layer to that which says “he wouldn’t have done it because he could get any woman he wants” is pretty dangerous stuff, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![ramesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d07c76/32.png) [@ramesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ramesh)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-open-letter-to-kobe/189541/35 "2003-07-19T14:33:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by vandal \* > \*\ ***Faruiza** , you’re getting your panties in a wad over something that you’re totally taking out of context. You say that you’re pitting him because he was lying? > > Well, in both articles you cite, he is quoted as saying: > > _“I would never do something like that.”_ > > Then, in the second article… > > _“When everything comes clean, it will all be fine, you’ll see”_ > > _“But you guys know me, I shouldn’t have to say anything”_ > > _“Man there’s a lot of crazy stories out there”_ > > I fail to see how any of these statements can be construed as lies. Those are his responses to what he is being accused of. > > \*\* ROTFLMAO!!! You, sir, accept too much bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7feea3/32.png) [@PatrickM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickM)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-open-letter-to-kobe/189541/36 "2003-07-19T14:35:25Z")
I don’t know if Bryant is guillty or not and I don’t care much either way. It’s between him, his wife, the alleged victim and the Eagle County, Colorado D.A. The whole thing is just going to give everyone at MSNBC, Fox News, CNN, ESPN and Fox Sports something juicy to yack about for the next year. As for his press conference always remember that it never hurts to apologize, especially if you don’t mean it. (paraphrasing Jim Bouton co-author of “Ball Four”.) Bryant has made already made enough moolah to support himself, his lovely soon-to-be-ex-wife, their child, and his team of attorneys, for the next century or so. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-open-letter-to-kobe/189541/37 "2003-07-19T19:29:23Z")
I’d like to suggest that Kobe Bryant and Sammy Sosa scurry off to the nearest meeting of **Really Bad Decisions Anonymous** ™. Both of these morons knew well enough that their actions could compromise their careers. Both of them ignored such precautions and went ahead and made mistakes that imperiled their standing and reputations. Sosa’s did not involve any violence and therefore is not on a par with Bryant’s stupidity. Yet, both of them are sterling examples of jerk-wit clowns who managed in some way to persuade themselves that somehow the rules just don’t apply to them. Cry me a fucking river. When you earn that many bucks, you make sure to educate yourself along the way. If self improvement isn’t on your list of what to do with your untold millions of wealth, you deserve every single moronic piece of crap that you bring upon yourself. That these two are behind the eight ball is absolutely ripping my heart out. FUCKING IDIOTS! ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-open-letter-to-kobe/189541/38 "2003-07-19T20:23:16Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Fairuza_ > Since, (and I am taking a shot in the dark, here.) YOU haven’t attained fame or role model status to sheep and children, you can squawk about “mistakes” all you want. It makes no nevermind. Someone, somewhere is going to have to explain to their kid what sexual assault is and why is Kobe a bad man? If there any kind of dedicated sports fan at all, I can’t believe the subject hasn’t come up sooner. Isn’t about time we stopped pretending that professional athletes are good role-models for kids? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-open-letter-to-kobe/189541/39 "2003-07-19T20:29:57Z")
“If **they’re** any kind…” Sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2003, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-open-letter-to-kobe/189541/40 "2003-07-19T21:22:38Z")
If he’s found guilty of rape, can we start calling him Mike Jr.? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-open-letter-to-kobe/189541.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-open-letter-to-kobe/189541.md?page=3)