Why does Kobe get so many free passes?

[LeBronSpaghetti]

It’s sad that some people worship a rapist because he could play basketball.

If you don’t think he raped that woman, look at the small percentage of rape cases that end up going to trial. There was nothing in it for the state of Colorado to go into a high profile sexual assault case if they didn’t have compelling evidence. It would have cost the state a ton of money to prosecute a celebrity. Bottom line: Kobe Bryant raped that woman and then bought her silence.

He was a great player and a terrible person. Maybe he truly sought forgiveness and redemption. I don’t know, but to me, he will always be a rapist, first and foremost. No means no no matter who you are.

That was not rape.

I am not a Kobe/LAL fan and that was absolutely not rape.

Inappropriate, infidelity, greasy…it was all of that. You can call him a rapist all you want, doesn’t make it true.

"Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did. After months of reviewing discovery, listening to her attorney, and even her testimony in person, I now understand how she feels that she did not consent to this encounter."

So he recognizes she didn’t consent but it wasn’t rape? It was just nonconsensual sex? I mean, isn’t nonconsensual sex just rape?

[JRoy]

It’s sad that some people worship a rapist because he could play basketball.

If you don’t think he raped that woman, look at the small percentage of rape cases that end up going to trial. There was nothing in it for the state of Colorado to go into a high profile sexual assault case if they didn’t have compelling evidence. It would have cost the state a ton of money to prosecute a celebrity. Bottom line: Kobe Bryant raped that woman and then bought her silence.

He was a great player and a terrible person. Maybe he truly sought forgiveness and redemption. I don’t know, but to me, he will always be a rapist, first and foremost. No means no no matter who you are.

That was not rape.

I am not a Kobe/LAL fan and that was absolutely not rape.

Inappropriate, infidelity, greasy…it was all of that. You can call him a rapist all you want, doesn’t make it true.

"Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did. After months of reviewing discovery, listening to her attorney, and even her testimony in person, I now understand how she feels that she did not consent to this encounter."

So he recognizes she didn’t consent but it wasn’t rape? It was just nonconsensual sex? I mean, isn’t nonconsensual sex just rape?

He said what he had to say.

[One_and_Done]

I think we have better things to do than criticize a dead man, yes?

If we have the time to talk about him positively, we have the time to criticise him too.

[dj20001]

Let me expand in the title. Kobe has done plenty of things that would get any other player crucified. Somehow none of it tarnished his legacy. Let's take a look.

- Refusing to play for the Nets and other teams if drafted by them
- Running Shaq out of town
- Demanding a trade from the Lakers
- His selfish chucking/losing play his last 2 seasons

Most players would get shredded for doing these things. If LeBron did any of those things, people would call for his head (especially Kobe fans ironically). How does Kobe manage to escape criticism for those things? People seem to forget they even happened.

because he is beloved
beloved celebs can do no wrong. curry is one, i think kawhi and giannis are two, tim is another

as opposed to very UN-beloved people who can never do right and in general,,,are mocked when they try, who, because it looks forced and transparent- carl lewis for instance. in basketball,,,,kd,,,zach

LBJ is also one. You listed Curry and Kawhi but left out the most obvious. Why?

[dj20001]

Im a huge Kobe fan but cant believe you didnt mention losing the 3-1 lead to phoenix and not shooting in the second half of game 7 to prove a point.

Its crazy how big of a Kobe fan i was and am, but this new revisionist history about Mamba mentality irks the hell out of me.

To answer the question, the most obvious part is his death. The less obvious part is he is the lesser of evils (LBJ)

The 2006 Suns series has been mentioned in this thread. It's not being overlooked.

On the flip, how'd he even have that LA team up 3-1 against the second seed in the west? This was the pre Gasol Lakers. A couple of bounces the other way, literally, in Game 6 and that series is over in LA's favor.

[monopoman]

Because LA.

The Lakers have the largest fan base by far. He had a loyal, very loud fan base that would have his back no matter what and a media that would push it.

He was also idolized in other countries, I have never seen such an outpouring from people outside America with a celebrity death ever. Maybe Elvis was just as big of a deal, but Kobe's death might be arguably the biggest celebrity death since Elvis. I am excluding deaths of political figures like say MLK or something, talking about celebrities that were outside that realm.

Kobe was the type of guy that if he was in China or India he would also draw a crowd of people.

[Marrrcuss]

Let me expand in the title. Kobe has done plenty of things that would get any other player crucified. Somehow none of it tarnished his legacy. Let's take a look.

- Refusing to play for the Nets and other teams if drafted by them
- Running Shaq out of town
- Demanding a trade from the Lakers
- His selfish chucking/losing play his last 2 seasons

Most players would get shredded for doing these things. If LeBron did any of those things, people would call for his head (especially Kobe fans ironically). How does Kobe manage to escape criticism for those things? People seem to forget they even happened.

because he is beloved
beloved celebs can do no wrong. curry is one, i think kawhi and giannis are two, tim is another

as opposed to very UN-beloved people who can never do right and in general,,,are mocked when they try, who, because it looks forced and transparent- carl lewis for instance. in basketball,,,,kd,,,zach

LBJ is also one. You listed Curry and Kawhi but left out the most obvious. Why?

What bizarro planet are you on that you see LBJ as someone that can do no wrong? Bro, they criticize any and every thing he does. Comes with the status.

[One_and_Done]

Im a huge Kobe fan but cant believe you didnt mention losing the 3-1 lead to phoenix and not shooting in the second half of game 7 to prove a point.

Its crazy how big of a Kobe fan i was and am, but this new revisionist history about Mamba mentality irks the hell out of me.

To answer the question, the most obvious part is his death. The less obvious part is he is the lesser of evils (LBJ)

The 2006 Suns series has been mentioned in this thread. It's not being overlooked.

On the flip, how'd he even have that LA team up 3-1 against the second seed in the west? This was the pre Gasol Lakers. A couple of bounces the other way, literally, in Game 6 and that series is over in LA's favor.

Because the 2006 Suns had lost Amare and were playing Boris Diaw at the 5 spot. Joe Johnson and Q.Rich left the team in the 05 offseason also.

The more interesting question is how did Nash carry such a mismatched collection of players to contention that year.

[JayMKE]

Kobe was definitely one of the most hated & oft criticized of his era, his image recovered a lot with his post-Shaq championship run. Eventually being a talented but persistent hardass made him endearing in old age rather the diva with his legendary resume & the new era of AAU-ball coming to, he was maybe the last old school kind of guy in the league.

The Colorado accusations would probably be handled differently, the accusation alone would probably incur punitive action from the league and his cancellation/social death penalty would be swift in terms of sponsorships & reputation/legacy. People nowadays seem a lot less willing to forgive or forget things like that regardless of it actually not being convicted or even trial, it might have seriously disrupted his career. Kobe tragically died and isn't running for office tho so there isn't anybody that wants to re-litigate the past on this.

[Drakeem]

I would have thought threads like this wouldn't be made about a deceased man...

It’s probably one of the main answers to the question though, that no one has mentioned. There’s a certain deification by many since his tragic passing that didn’t exist before. His legend has only been magnified and become more legendary as a result.

Maybe he gets criticized by some niche hardcores (ie - RealGM posters), but just about every comment outside this site I see is pure adulation. With casual fans it seems like a big love fest. I think it’s all a natural response to a sad loss of lives, not just in sports.

It's totally normal for a highly accomplished man to be spoken about with RESPECT, after his passing.

A man is just a man. No matter the legacy, they bleed like we bleed, breathe how we breathe, etc. I agree there should be a certain grace granted (don't attack the family, maybe wait some time to allow loved ones to recover in the public eye) but the dude was accused of something pretty heinous and by all accounts wasn't the kindest human being. People will have feelings to express and words to say.

[Kobeskillz]

The guy who made this thread must be young. Because Kobe got a lot of hate back then. You either really really hated him or really really really loved him. Very few in-between.

[Drakeem]

I'm not even trying to be "that guy" when it comes to this issue, but to think that Kobe didn't get a pass is funny to me.

Have you seen what companies who endorse these athletes do when there's a massive controversy around them? Did we not see how the league dealt with Morant, Nike with Kyrie, hell, even Adidas and other music companies with Kanye (if we're going outside of sports)? That Colorado case today would have been the biggest thing on social media and TV. I don't think he ever fully recovers his marketing image in todays world.

So the real answer is, he avoided the social media era like so many athletes before who were able to brush certain issues under the rug.

[FrobeBryant]

What are you talking about? He was criticized for those things throughout his career. He just won which quieted a lot of the criticism.

[KodiakBear]

I mean, let's be real. This thread makes a fair point. Kobe was charged with rape. Not only was he charged, but in the deal he made to have the suit dropped he had to agree to make a statement acknowledging that "in hindsight I now understand she did not consent". That's an incredible concession, not the sort one tends to make if innocent.

In today's post me too world he would be cancelled in polite society, like Kanye or Russell Brand. But because it happened 20 years ago (and he's dead) it's all but taboo to discuss. It wasn't even mentioned in the OP, and this thread will eventually be shut down because "this isn't the place" to discuss it. I don't know where else would be the place, if not on a thread discussing the off court legacy of a player. I can't imagine how victims of rape feel about the way this topic is completely swept under the table.

I'm not a Kobe hater, but that is wild. You of course could argue that he just did what he had to do to make it go away, but still we basically have an NBA legend who admitted to rape

[KodiakBear]

The guy who made this thread must be young. Because Kobe got a lot of hate back then. You either really really hated him or really really really loved him. Very few in-between.

Yeah from about 03-08 he was very much hated and criticized. Winning a title without Shaq quieted a lot of it.

[Lalouie]

Let me expand in the title. Kobe has done plenty of things that would get any other player crucified. Somehow none of it tarnished his legacy. Let's take a look.

- Refusing to play for the Nets and other teams if drafted by them
- Running Shaq out of town
- Demanding a trade from the Lakers
- His selfish chucking/losing play his last 2 seasons

Most players would get shredded for doing these things. If LeBron did any of those things, people would call for his head (especially Kobe fans ironically). How does Kobe manage to escape criticism for those things? People seem to forget they even happened.

because he is beloved
beloved celebs can do no wrong. curry is one, i think kawhi and giannis are two, tim is another

as opposed to very UN-beloved people who can never do right and in general,,,are mocked when they try, who, because it looks forced and transparent- carl lewis for instance. in basketball,,,,kd,,,zach

LBJ is also one. You listed Curry and Kawhi but left out the most obvious. Why?

james has been divisive. on court he's unanimously gifted, but off court i disagree with you on the topic of being BELOVED, especially in the context of the others i mentioned

[fast+forward]

Does he get a pass? It feels like ever since his playing days all of Kobe's shortcomings both on the court and off it have been discussed at length.

[Lalouie]

Does he get a pass? It feels like ever since his playing days all of Kobe's shortcomings both on the court and off it have been discussed at length.

feels like post career, he's been sanctified

[Calvin Klein]

Kobe got tons of criticism when those things happened and righfully so. But people move on. It'll be the same with Lebron, Durant, etc

[tsherkin]

Does he get a pass? It feels like ever since his playing days all of Kobe's shortcomings both on the court and off it have been discussed at length.

feels like post career, he's been sanctified

Where? In conversation with casual fans?

Because it isn't here. There are way too many over-the-top conversations from nutters Kobe fans who get counter responses from people (with varying levels of attention to Kobe's baseline proficiency) for that to be the case. He gets a fair amount of criticism here.