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

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I find this very interesting. I agree with you wholeheartedly and me being me
I am skeptical that even if Kobe did what he is accused of that he will see
one day of prison time.

That said, if he is convicted and gets jail time, what happens to his
contract? Does he collect in prison? What happens to the Lakers? This has to
be a precendent. WHat will the players association want?
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: John Sermini
  To: Stephen Beauregard
  Sent: Saturday, July 19, 2003 5:09 PM
  Subject: Re: Just curious: if Kobe goes, does the Lakers get cap relief?


  NO WAY. Celts didn't get relief when Reggie Lewis passed away! So the
Fakers
  shouldn't get relief is Koby gets time.


  ----- Original Message -----
  From: "Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
  To: "celtics list" <celtics@xxxxxxxx>
  Sent: Saturday, July 19, 2003 7:07 AM
  Subject: Just curious: if Kobe goes, does the Lakers get cap relief?


  > 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
  >
  >
  >
  >
  >
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
  >       Video clips require RealPlayer and Windows 98 or higher.
  >              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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