Just curious: if Kobe goes, does the Lakers get cap relief?

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Bryant's problems are just beginning


By Bob Ryan, Globe Columnist, 7/19/2003

obe Bryant has led a very charmed life, but now he's going to find out what
trouble is, and it doesn't really matter if he's proven innocent of the
charges pending against him.



It's not like people in America trust the legal system, which, we have
learned, is not about justice at all, but about ''winning.'' The very fact
Bryant is fabulously rich and can afford the best (i.e. most expensive) legal
representation will turn some people against him. Of course, for bigots, being
black means he's already guilty of, well, everything this side of global
warming.

Let's begin with the obvious. No one other than Bryant and the 19-year-old
woman who has accused him of sexual assault knows exactly what went on inside
that room at The Lodge & Spa at Cordillera in Edwards, Colo., on the night of
June 30. Bryant has publicly confessed to adultery, but that's all. There were
sexual relations. But consensual sexual relations is one thing, and unwanted
sexual relations is another. And in the classic case of ''he said, she said''
how can outsiders judge?

All we can say is that ''no'' is supposed to mean ''no,'' and any man who
forces himself on a woman after she tells him ''no'' is no longer just plain
stupid. He is a criminal. A man must be very certain that what takes place
between himself and a woman is consensual. Explaining yourself

to a wife or Significant Other is hard enough, but explaining yourself to
someone such as Mark Hurlbert is something else. Hurlbert is the District
Attorney of Eagle County, Colo. He's the prosecutor in this case. The partner
in your life can throw you out of the house; the DA is quite capable of
putting you in The House for, in this case, probation to life in prison. So
when you start your thinking a bit too far south of your brain, you'd best
beware. You'd better ask yourself if a moment of pleasure is worth years,
perhaps a lifetime, of shame. The cost is even higher if you're a celebrity,
and Bryant is all of that. He has spent a half-dozen years positioning himself
as the NBA's Mr. Suave. Not for him the Allen Iverson market. Not for him the
anti-establishment shtick. If he's got a tattoo, we can't see it. Bryant is
Cary Grant meets The Playground. But in Kobe's case, it isn't the playground,
it's a nice indoor gym. In his commercials, it's as if he's shown up at the
Newton Y. And, yes, he's trash-talking, but in Italian. And why not? No sense
in letting that Continental upbringing go to waste.

For Bryant, it's a case of first things first. He is facing serious charges.
If convicted, he could get probation to life in prison, and the DA claims he
wouldn't be bringing charges if he didn't feel completely comfortable doing
so.



      Kobe Bryant and his wife, Vanessa, at a press conference in Los Angeles
Friday evening. (Reuters Photo)

      Eagle County, Colo., District Attorney Mark Hurlbert announces the
charges against Bryant. (AP Photo)

             IN TODAY'S GLOBE


       Bryant charged with sex assault
       Ryan: Problems just beginning


             RELATED COVERAGE


       Prosecutors face a challenge
       Chronology of the Bryant case
       Other athletes charged with crimes

             TEXT


       Text of charge against Bryant
       Statement from Bryant
       Statement from Bryant's wife
       Statement from NBA commissioner


             REALVIDEO




      | NECN.com | Help with video |
       Bryant charged in assault case




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             ON THE WEB


      Official LA Lakers site
       www.nba.com/lakers

      Official NBA site
       www.nba.com

      Eagle County, Colo.
       www.eagle-county.com

      Lodge & Spa at Cordillera
      (Where assault allegedly took place)
       www.cordillera-vail.com/spa/main




Hurlbert seems to understand the perils of a full-fledged celebrity trial.
''This did not come easily,'' he said. OK, but is this man fully cognizant of
all the ramifications? This is the kind of trial that will wind up in People
and the National Enquirer, to name two entities not normally interested in the
goings-on of Edwards, Colo. Mark Hurlbert, or whomever prosecutes the case,
will be subjected to the full Marcia Clark scrutiny if this thing heats up.
Kobe is big news. He doesn't play for the Indiana Pacers. He plays for the Los
Angeles Lakers, and he is a crossover celeb.

If he's convicted, he goes away, presumably. Endorsements will be a
short-term, moot point. But if he's acquitted, does this mean he picks up his
life as if it were June 29, 2003? That's rather doubtful. He was a dubious
sneaker-seller, anyway. Urban youth like his game, but they were never lining
up to buy his sneakers. It's hard to imagine white parents purchasing the
sneakers of a black man so tainted, especially since his new endorsement is
for Nike, and Nike already has enough problems with those persistent sweatshop
charges.

Sprite is his other big endorsement (''Obey Your Thirst''). I can see the
Sprite people invoking any out clause they can find.

The flip side is that some writers have already speculated in print that this
new notoriety will actually aid him in certain circles by giving him what has
been termed ''street cred.'' Responsible African-American adults have
expressed their outrage that anyone would dare suggest such a thing. But it
has been put out there, and it's an X-factor, at the very least.

We don't know the evidence or what the trial could reveal. But we can assume
it will be very humiliating for both Kobe and his accuser. Bryant will be
portrayed as a sexual predator. We know that his lawyer(s) will be denigrating
the young lady in question. Even if the verdict is in her favor, there no
doubt will be an attempt to depict her in a negative light. Unless Bryant
breaks down and confesses to the crime, as charged, there will be millions of
people who will ignore the verdict and maintain that Bryant was victimized by
this young vixen and just couldn't get a break in court. The ''Free Kobe''
chants would start as soon as a guilty verdict is rendered.

But say Bryant is acquitted. He will return as a basketball player. If he is
convicted and gets the minimum and is then paroled, he would likewise come
back as a basketball player, albeit one without endorsements. He could resume
his life. The Constitution gives us many rights, but nowhere in there does it
say there is an inalienable right to endorse a product.

And if that's what's on his mind, it's about time someone straightened him
out.

Thanks,

Steve
sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx

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