| He Said, She Said |
21 July 2003
|
Kobe Bryant Admits Adultery, Denies Rape
Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant has been charged with one count of sexual assault by a court in Colorado. Unlike the O.J. Simpson farce, Mr. Bryant has not said he is "100% not guilty." Rather, he has said that he committed the mistake of adultery -- so whatever happened in the hotel room with a 19-year-old is not the issue. The issue is whether her will was violated. Unfortunately, the media will force much more information than that on the public.
The charge itself is a class 3 felony sexual assault, and Mr. Bryant faces four years to life in prison if the jury finds him guilty. That seems like a heavy load to bear if he didn't hear her say "no" clearly enough. And that is what this case comes down to. Does the jury believe she said "no"?
Already the sideshows have begun. Mr. Bryant has put out a statement claiming his innocence. And his wife, Vanessa, who is standing by him (but is most likely real angry) has also issued one supporting him. Meanwhile, friends of the alleged victim have been quoted by CNN saying, "She [whoever the victim is -- the Kensington Review will not name her] was real good on select choir, sang in graduation, she sang in a lot of football games, a lot of basketball games, doing the national anthems." As if her vocal talents are relevant to the case.
This kind of case is inherently ugly. One the one hand, rape is about as serious as it gets this side of murder. On the other hand, "no" has to be said at the time, not the morning after. By the time this is over, the public will know more than it needs to about things that don't matter that happened somewhere most could not afford to visit. And the usual talking heads will have trotted out their stale studies and dull harangues to collect their money from Big News Entertainment.
Right now, one prefers public trials, but there is a sense of loathing and trepidation that hangs over this sad scene. Star Chamber proceedings would spare the world the media circus at very least.