Lets Talk Basketball

[ksquared]

Just jumping with a NY Post Editorial
on Kobe Bryant... enjoy.

DON'T BE SO FAST TO FORGIVE HIS ADULTERY
By ANDREA PEYSER
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

July 22, 2003 -- WHILE any third- grader knows Kobe Bryant is innocent of a crime until proven guilty, the man is racking up a stunning list of offenses against common decency and taste, not to mention that principle of which few dare speak: morality.
He isn't the first. And, goodness, he certainly won't be the last. But when Bryant, a young man blessed with a wicked game, lovely wife, innocent baby and adoring fans, tearfully confessed to the minor transgression of "adultery" - poof! - he made a huge contribution to the tradition of revolting behavior exhibited by moneyed men.

With wife Vanessa smiling like a ninny, Bryant masterfully transformed himself from an alleged victimizer into a hapless victim of his own testosterone, weepily admitting that he did, in fact, have sex with that woman.

Has it come to this? Have we sunk so low as a society that we now accept that men in general, athletes especially, are, by nature, hapless brutes incapable of exercising self-control when subjected to temptation?

I don't believe it.

Like it or not, when a man signs a contract to play ball, sell sneakers or enter into marriage, he sets himself up to play a role.

By having sex with a young hotel employee, then making excuses when caught, Bryant broke the compact he made with young men, of all races and bank accounts.

By his actions, he told them that cheating on your wife is cool - provided that you do the deed on the road, and the woman in question doesn't put up a fight. Oh, and then you say you're sorry. And so, the moral fabric is frayed further.

Whether or not he committed a rape, Bryant's decision to play Russian roulette with the law was a move that affected more than just himself, his alleged victim, his wife and baby daughter.

Only two people know exactly what occurred in Room 18 of the posh Lodge and Spa at Cordillera in Colorado on June 30, and it's likely they'll never agree on what it was. That Bryant confessed to anything sexual appears not a consequence of conscience, but of the tyranny of DNA testing.

Meanwhile, Bryant's fans and handlers are having a field day turning the "accuser" into something far worse than a man who betrays his wife and public: a gold digger.

What lessons will be imprinted upon Bryant's infant daughter, born into a family that says Dad was railroaded for doing what comes naturally, while Mom is a paid doormat?

Bryant knew better, and he made his choice. Let's not forgive him as easily as his gullible wife.

http://www.nypost.com/commentary/1221.htm