It’s Time to Admit We Were All Wrong

I thought Kobe Bryant was done. He allegedly raped a hotel employee cheated on his wife, lost many of his endorsements, and became public enemy number one for snitching on Shaq. Five years later, Bryant restored his image and now is the model husband and father. How were we all wrong?

Back in 2003, when the logistics of the rape case surfaced – you know, White girl, Black athlete – and the public found him guilty on all counts, many wondered whether Kobe would either a) get out of this jam O.J. style or b) become a prison-yard point guard. We didn’t want to believe that Kobe, a sex symbol and all-star athlete, would have to go to extreme means to get some. It’s Kobe, for goodness sakes.

But in reality, people were waiting for Kobe to go down for something. For one, he doesn’t fit the typical “Hoop Dreams” model: He wasn’t born into poverty, where playground ball grabbed the attention of a Sonny Vaccaro-type, who recruited you to play at (insert Catholic prep school name), where basketball became your savior and you became a big star and a beacon of hope to all the kiddies in the hood who urge to mimic your life.

Kobe grew up in Lower Merion, a high-end area near Philadelphia. Philadelphia refuses to claim him. He didn’t have it rough like many of the ballers in the league today. He seemed to receive all of the breaks, all of the glory and all of the attention. He rode his last name. We don’t have the time or the patience to rehash the drama about his wife, Vanessa.

That’s why, early in his career, you saw Kobe trying to grab into this “hood” side, to show people that he was “down”. It failed. He’s the league’s bastard child. That’s why we wanted him convicted of any crime; hopefully, it would humble him.

But yet, we’re the ones that are humbled. So with that, I apologize for finding him guilty of rape in the court of public opinion. I still don’t like the guy, though.