I agree that Kobe Bryant leaves a great legacy on and off the court. I am sorry to hear that folks are debating something that was settled out of court and resulted in Kobe apologizing. I am female, and in my day when I was pretty, I had a few "Me Too" moments (not anything I considered physical assault, mind you... but still, it was demoralizing). I was young and quit my good-paying job to soon get another. (It was the movie industry, and there was a culture called the "casting couch"...and I never laid there.)
I don't judge Kobe's accuser, or any current or former "MeToo" activists; frankly, it's a "free country", and folks are free to speak their minds (more or less, depending on rules and regs of online forums...but I digress.) At risk of getting deleted or helping this thread/topic to go downhill, which is not my intent...I see all sides on this issue. I wasn't in that hotel room years ago. I am tall and dated basketball players and love the game (and baseball too). I loved watching Kobe Bryant play.
I do not think folks should disrespect this man's legacy when he's not even dead 24 hours (well, maybe it is a full day now). It just makes me very sad, in these divisive times, that we cannot find just a bit of unity in saluting the legacy of a great sports figure who inspired so many kids...and adults. I also mourn his daughter's untimely death along with their friends and colleagues on that helicopter. As Alicia Keys said last night on the Grammys, "here we are gathered in the house that Kobe built". She was referring to the Staples Center! Think about that, everyone, the improvements that Kobe Bryant brought to the Lakers and L.A. and the bigger picture. But if you don't like Alicia Keys, maybe you might disagree even on that. (Read her bio, she's an inspiring celebrity who gives lots of $ to charities, has her own charity, etc...she GIVES BACK and we all should, if we have fame, $ or privilege). I will change the subject to the following, my original reason for my posting here again...until I saw the hotel incident being debated (and yes, this hotel incident "debate" is also being hashed out on "social" and mainstream media)...anyway, here's what may have led to the crash in L.A.:
HELICOPTER DEATHS...yet again! Carol C wonders...Where have I heard that before? Maybe I should have posted this breaking news in the Hawaii helicopter crash thread somewhere on TUG. NYT has this headline in breaking news:
Very thoughtful post, @CarolC. You didn’t drag it down at all.
I’d like to add a few more thoughts to my post above that may help explain why I feel we need to let people grieve instead of attacking a person we don’t really even know.
I was never a Kobe fan. I grew up a Boston Celtics fan in the 60’s and 70’s. Russell’s Celtics vs. Wilt’s Lakers. Then, it was the Larry Bird Celtics vs. Magic/Kareem Lakers through the 80’s and early 90’s. Of course, since I loved the Celtics, I had to hate the Lakers. But, as I got older, I did gain a grudging respect for Magic and Kareem for their basketball skills, but even more-so, for who they were off the court. Kareem fought for equality for all people. Magic brought great attention to the HIV/AIDS problem and helped raise millions of dollars for research that helped identify treatments. Today, I would rate Kareem the best center in NBA history and Magic one of the top 2 guards.
When Kobe came along, there had been a changing of the guard and my Celtics weren’t competing for championships any longer so my interest in the NBA waned. Then, when he was accused of sexual assault, I decided he was a bad guy and I never gave him another chance. I went back to hating the Lakers and basically ignoring the 5 championships they won during Kobe’s reign.
A couple of years ago, after he had retired, Kobe spent an evening with the Alabama football team. I had never heard him speak and didn’t really know, or care, what he was doing after retirement. But, Nick Saban invites several motivational speakers to fall camp prior to football season every year. Some are athletes, some not. Many have had very public troubles, some not. All of them have overcome some type of adversity in their life and they talk to the football team about that and what made them successful. Kobe and Saban sat on stage and just talked, asking and answering each other’s questions. The looks on the kids faces were priceless. Kobe had their rapt attention! He was a hero, the GOAT, for many of them. And here he was, talking to them, sharing with them, how to be the best they could be. He didn’t talk about winning championships. He talked about doing what it takes to be successful. He told them you have to work hard, every day, every practice, every drill, every single play. That is your focus. The work, the process, not the results. Those will take care of themselves. It was something that Coach Saban says all the time but the players probably get tired of hearing. But on that night, they were hearing it from the GOAT and you could tell it sunk in like never before. I changed my opinion of Kobe a little after seeing that but still mostly ignored him.
Then, I was sitting in line at a fast food restaurant yesterday waiting to give my order and scrolling through Twitter when I saw the first post about his death. It shocked me. Just 41 years old. It wasn’t right. Then, a couple of hours later, we find out about his daughter, Gianna, just 13 years old. Then, 9 people on board. No survivors. Two of Gigi’s teammates. Another dad. A mom. It just got worse.
My perspective on death changed in 1991 when I lost my 18 year old son in an automobile accident. After that, I realized everyone is a child and everyone has parents and family that love them despite whatever issues they may have. I have no idea what kind of person Kobe Bryant really was and I doubt anyone on this forum does. I do know he has a wife and three surviving daughters that love him and Gigi more than anything else and they are hurting. He has millions of fans that love him for the enjoyment he gave to them over the years and they are hurting.
If you didn’t like him, that’s ok. As I said above, I was never a fan. But, what is the point of trying to tear him down and berate him now? Does it make you feel better? Are you looking for a fight with someone who is grieving, or at the very least is sad about his death? Before you hit the Enter key on one of those posts, ask yourself, is this a kind and caring post that will help make a sad, grieving person feel better? If you can’t answer yes to that question, then ask yourself, what am I doing?
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk