12/21/24
May 14, 2004
Kobe is no hero.: Jason Whitlock points out the absurdity and stupidity of Kobe Bryant's situation (going from court-to-court). He writes, "There's nothing heroic about fighting rape allegations by day and playing basketball by night. Nothing."
posted by jacknose to basketball at 07:33 AM - 8 comments
*warning...foul language ahead* it's about fucking time....someone, anyone calls kobe out. guilty or not (and i think he's not guilty), the ridiculous hyping of whoever is the next michael jordan jumped the shark about 4 years ago. it's getting old. there was an article in espn magazine about kobe a week ago. it's a pure dick ride. and it's not the press either. phil jackson is quoted as saying about kobe's play in the middle of this season as 'the best couple of weeks of basketball played by anyone. ever.' give me a break. there's not one ounce of modesty in any of this....it's pure southern california bullshit. (sorry to the spofi'ers out there in socal...just calling it like i see it) the blind support from the fans in la-la land add to it....the casting of shaq as someone holding kobe back is also crazy. what the hell are the fans smoking out there? kobe's shooting through triple teams...there's clear outs for him every other possesion. the guy's good...but not so much that he *deserves* to be treated as the second coming. i watched my first nba game last night in a couple of months. the whole game was a PSA for kobe bryant. al michaels is prolly pulling a 'marv albert' with kobe after the game. kobe is lame. send him to philly. the fans on the east coast can see through the hype.
posted by oliver_crunk at 08:42 AM on May 14, 2004
I got involved in this discussion on a sports message board, and some people could not believe that I was taking this stance. Of course, they were Lakers fans, so I suppose it was their bias showing through, but still...the average schmoe should be able to see that this guy is not doing anything the least bit "heroic" by playing the same day as a court appearance. Perhaps a better word for it would be extraordinary, but that's a touch too positive in my view.
posted by bcb2k2 at 09:10 AM on May 14, 2004
I wonder if the media would be nearly as fawning if Jayson Williams had played through his manslaughter trial.
posted by wfrazerjr at 09:25 AM on May 14, 2004
Eventually, somebody hadda say it. Is he guilty or not...well, "guilty" is a funny word here. I believe it's entirely possible that he thinks that what he did was okay. A grownup would understand that that doesn't necessarily make it legal. I think even the most generous and forgiving interpretation would have to have it that he didn't act like a grownup.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 10:22 AM on May 14, 2004
Bat, interesting thinking... I would go the other way though - what he did (in my opinion, knowing only the public evidence) was fully legal, but completely un-okay. Agree on the grownup part. But he was surely just doing what 90% of the NBA players do.
posted by Bernreuther at 11:40 AM on May 14, 2004
I turned off the game when I saw NBC hyping the "from one court to another" stuff with Kobe Bryant. It's revolting; the guy's accused of rape, and they're giving this story the same gauzy treatment they give athletes who triumph over adversity during the Olympics.
posted by rcade at 12:01 PM on May 14, 2004
How did Kobe score the free ride? Aren't the slavering hounds of American media just waiting to tear down another beloved figure? What makes Kobe so special? The hero worship is pretty sickening. That said, let's not pretend we know any of the facts of this story other then what said slavering hounds have printed, and ya just can truss it. I really try hard not to buy what their selling in these public trials.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 02:39 PM on May 15, 2004
If the idiot hadn't stepped out on his wife and slept with a teenage woman he didn't know, he might have been even better Tuesday night. Why is it that this little tidbit is constantly forgotton by the media. Whitlock's got balls, that's for sure. Too bad most of his colleagues are lacking in that department.