Newsday: 'Fixer:' Bryant Case Might Break Many Before It's Over

not at this point. . . .

Rocket River

 

Well said bro'! These people aim to make an example out of Kobe and he's finally realized that he and his family are really in for it now. Eagle County is not the most racially enlightened place in the nation and Kobe's in for a hard lesson about race relations in the US.

Now before anyone starts up screaming "race card" let me point out that I have no problem with these folks disliking interracial coupling. The constitution protects their right to be bigoted. If anything, Kobe is solely to blame here because it was HE who forgot who, what and where he was. He sure wasn't in LA, Miami or New York! Like my daddy always told me: "It's does not pay to black AND stupid in America" (except in Kobe's case, he will pay and pay and pay some more).

The media will be short stroking this for months to come. You have evrything for a juicy scandal: wealth, sex, race, more sex. His carefully crafted "Good Guy" image is toast. He'll never be able to recover from this. He's about to lose millions of $$$ and for what?

Rocket's right about the civil suit: IT WILL COME. Remember, it's ALWAYS about the money...(PTL - Pay the lady!)

 

On the other hand, if Bryant is found guilty, she should sue him.

Hillboy: You said: "Eagle County is not the most racially enlightened place in the nation and Kobe's in for a hard lesson about race relations in the US."

How do you know this? Have you ever lived there? Or even been there? Do you WANT the race card played -- are you a black bigot or a white bigot or just a bigot? I'm so tired of people leaping to conclusions and stirring up muck that has no rhyme or reason for being brought up -- stick to what is known and your credibility will grow.

At this juncture we don't know all the facts, but the judge and jury will and they will render the verdict -- the right verdict. I have faith in our judicial system.

 

Hmm. . . I guess the "fixers" don't need to throw in the race card after all. People everywhere will do that for them.

Most fair minded people will hold to the principle of "innocent until proven guilty" for both the accuser and the accused. But that doesn't mean we have no opinions on guessing who's telling the truth. We form these opinions on a load of reasons, some more rational than others.

Those who work with rape victims might naturally side with the girl. Those who see racism everywhere might see the same here. Those who root for underdog usually side against the wealthy Bryant. Those who are Kobe fans would like to think that he's innocent.

As for us Lakers haters, it's pretty obvious that . . .

As someone has said, if Kobe gets acquitted (like OJ) then everyone will still believe whatever they want to believe. Those who believe he is guilty will believe that the fixers did it. Those who believe he is innocent will believe that Kobe is vindicated by the verdict. So argue on . . .

 

Really Kobe stands to lose 20 mil in endorsements because he chose to commit adultery. How can you blame her. He was in control of himself. He should have never chose to have sex with her and then his endorsements would be fine. She is not to blame for his losing endorsements. He chose to soil his moral character. He was in control of his life, not anyone else. If he had not put himself in that position, nothing would have ever happened and he would still be the poster boy of the American Dream.

 

what?!
He's being charged for rape you know, not adultery. I think what you're trying to say is " He deserved being charged for rape and losing the endorsements because he committed adultery." Right?
Why don't you say what you mean?
Look at MJ, Magic Johnson, and now Kobe...none of their cheating was exposed until the media had to be addressed because of legal or health issues... it was never because "they committed adultery." EVER. Nobody is going to report an athlete cheating just because they are.

 

The website says there are 41,000 people as of the 2000 census. Check it out yourself.

http://www.eagle-county.com/demographic.cfm

Check out the demos for the county...Thumbs would say the .2% African American population shouldn't mean a thing because we've never lived there and don't know. I'm sure they are all enlightened individuals who welcome all human beings of every race with open arms into their secluded little town...just like EVERY small town does...right?
Hey Thumbs, you ever live in a small town of mainly one race? Why don't you tell us how open-minded all the residents of a small single race dominated-town are? enlighten us.

 

Nope he's going to trial because he cheated on his wife. If he could have kept his pants on he wouldn't have had to worry about rape charges or tarnishing his image. He put himself in this situation.
He has morality clauses in most (if not all) of his endorsements. he made the bad decision let him deal with it.

Yes the rape brought out more attention then a tell-all book or by a girl going on TV and telling how she slept with him, but in the end it is his fault. Wheter or not it is rape is up to a Jury but he commited adultery.

 

'cept OJ's guilt is pretty well assumed by the general public. Depending on what comes out of this trial I don't anticipate the same status for Bryant if he is acquitted.

 

Sorry chuckie, but thats actually NOT against the law...maybe in a few states(1 or 2), but not most. Try again.

 

Wrong.

Adultery is not a crime, it's just morally wrong depending on your personal morals. Like he said, that issue is between he, his wife and his god.

You are right in that if he had been true to his wife then none of this would be happening. But that's not the issue at hand.

Jordan's already been through the adultery thing and it apparently had no effect on his endorsements.

 

This IS something I do know about. It's not pretty but it's the way things are and not just in Eagle County. I'm not a bigot - just a realist. For many white people - especially those in Eagle County, the mere ACCUSATION that a black man assaulted a young white girl is proof of his "guilt". Eagle County is overwhelmingly white. I have close friends who lived there until last year . They reported about the hostility toward black people especially those in interracial relationships. I watched numerous interviews this weekend where black people who live there spoke of the hostile environment they face every day. These people are extremely suspicious of the entire situation surrounding Kobe's arrest.

When I said that the intent of the police is to make an example out of Kobe, I'm speaking from a lifetime of experience of watching the police and the courts come down hard on black people accused of crimes. These folks are going to go after Kobe with everything they've got - he's going to come out of this looking like Mike Tyson before all is said and done. UNLIKE yourself, I know better than to have faith in the judicial system - especially after watching the parade of innocent black males being released from prison after spending many years locked up. Were it not for DNA evidence exonerating them, they'd still be there behind bars.

I stand by my original post. Kobe forgot what and where he was. He simply picked the wrong place to play Snoop Dog. He thought that his wealth and status placed him above all of this stuff which is why he behaved the way he did. He was stupid and stupid people pay for their mistakes (actually calling him stupid is to insult stupid people). Stupid black people pay even more - that's just the way it is.

UNLIKE yourself, I understand and ACCEPT the reality that is the USA. Like I said, those folks have a right to their beliefs - I have no quarrel with that fact at all. That doesn't mean that I will stick my head in the sand and pretend that Eagle County is not what it really is. Heck, there are areas around Houston where I would not dare to venture into. Does that make things right? No, but that's not something that should be important to me either as it doesn't affect myself nor my family. The only way it could affect us would be for me to do something dumb...which is exactly what Kobe did.

Remember when you dance with the Devil, the Devil don't change - the Devil changes you.

 

Precisely! Had he exercised the tiniest bit of self-control, none of this happens. Even if (and that's a BIG if) the girl and her family actually have a hidden agenda (meaning money), I still can't blame them at all. After all, they would only be seizing the opportunity that presented itself and isn't that what you are SUPPOSED to do? As Murphy's Law states: "It's MORALLY wrong to allow suckers to keep their money"

It was Kobe who set this train wreck into motion and what happens from now on is his fault and his fault alone.

 

If Kobe would have kept his pants on would he be in trouble right now? No

He screwed up and put himself in a bad situation.

 

. . . and Susan Smith is in Jail because she push a car in the water

NOPE . . .She in jail cause she killed two kids

He going to trial because she said he raped her
IF SHE DOES NOT SAY RAPE
WE ARE NOT HAVING THIS CONVO

I know what is coming next
if he kept it in his pants

in that case . . . If he didn't goto Colorade. . .
or hurt his shoulder. . . or goto the lakers instead of Charlotte

If she didn't say rape . . .Kobe goes on as normal

Rocket River

 

Hillboy: I can't argue (formal definition as opposed to a quarrel) with you if you begin with false assumptions.

First, I never said racism does not exist there. I said you don't know for a FACT that it exists there. You make that supposition as fact. Generally speaking, Colorado as a whole is almost as liberal as California with many of its mountain popuations seeded by ex-hippies from my generation. Eagle may be the Berkeley of Colorado. You don't KNOW that and neither do I. So why jump to that conclusion unless you have a desire to see racism continue to divide our country?

Next, 50 years ago I would have acceded to your views that racism ruled the populace. America has grown a lot in the past 50 years and that's why we are finding -- and attempting to correct -- past mistakes. That's why those innocent victims of the judicial system are being freed with restitution, which I agree in advance is pitifully lame.

I've spent time as a reporter covering police, and I've earned credit for nailing several for brutality as well as two police chiefs, one fire chief and two mayors for malfeasance. I believe I know something about reality -- and change. I've not only participated on juries but also covered individual jurors "post partem" so to speak. I know the anguish most go through trying to render the right verdict.

They are not always perfect, but, God love them, they DO try. So, yes, I believe in the judicial system. If you too have seen this process at work -- up close and personal -- then I must conclude you are getting your reality from television and the movies.

Last of all, I believe we have a duty to change the beliefs of those who are racist -- white, black, brown, Asian, Semitic or whatever. We can't do it with force. We can't do it with screaming and playing the race card at every turn. We can do it with patience, understanding and, yes, a little bit of love.

I'm going to tell you one more time because I know you don't believe me. I do not support Kobe Bryant. I do not support the prosecution. I support our justice system. However, that system is being soiled so badly by the coverage that a change of venue is becoming less and less viable and a fair trial (fair for Bryant and fair for the 19-year-old girl) is becoming less and less possible. That is why I decry so fiercely the slander blizzard emanating from the Bryant camp.

 

Wow, this is getting interesting...
First of all, my friend described Eagle County as being more like the Mississippi of Colorado. He and his wife (he's black and she's white) had a terrible time but their daughter fared much worse and that's why they ended up leaving. Some of the names she was called at school will make you sick. When the Kobe affair exploded, I called him up and he gave me his take on the police and such. Suffice to say, these folks are not died in the wool Klan members but they have no real love for the brotherman either. In fact, a prime reason the majority of them live there is to be away from minorities.

Now as I have said before, I have NO problem with their feeling this way. I have come to accept certain "realities" accompany being in the minority. One such reality is that one, such as myself, must always be aware of where I am and who I am and to be vigilent at all times. Above all, I know that you don't go looking for trouble PARTICULARLY the kind that Kobe now finds himself dealing with. This is REALITY for the black male in America and should not to be taken as nothing more than a statement of fact or if you prefer, an alternative point of view.

As for my opinions on the police and legal system, that's all they are - my opinions. It's obvious that my beliefs come from a much different perspective than yours because my experiences and those of my family and community are way different. I look at the system from the inside out. I know that the police are NOT your friend and that it's the DA's job to put you and yours away no matter what the evidence says. That's why so many folks are in jail for decades based on eyewitness testimony without a shred of physical evidence. I don't need to watch TV or a movie to learn this as I've been viewing it first hand ever since I was a child.

But I don't want this to to become a discussion on racism in America. This BBS is not the proper venue for that type of conversation. Nor do I agree with your contention that people can be persuaded to change their views and beliefs - people will change their views because they want to change. I learned at an early age that the black male may never be fully accepted in this country so I don't lose any sleep over it and neither should anyone else - it's just the way things are...

The fact is that Kobe is accused of raping a young white girl - an accusation that feeds right into the old racial stereotype of the sex-crazed black male who cannot control his wants and desires. That's what makes it so appealing, so naughty to the media. There's something here for everyone. For many whites, including those in Eagle County, this episode will be viewed as yet another reaffirmation of their beliefs on minorities - in particular, the young black male. It may not strike you as a particularly enlightened frame of reference but that's just the way it is.

 

Here's my basetball card of the year:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2743496217&category=44861