On Sunday, Nov. 29, Kobe Bryant announced that he would retire from the NBA at the end of this season. Now in his 20th season, Bryant has multiple Finals MVP awards, five championship rings, 17 All-Star selections and a place in the record books as the third-most prolific scorer in the history of the NBA. It seems to be a foregone conclusion that he will be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame as soon as he is eligible. So what?
As a society, we tend to fixate on professional sports. American sports leagues are part of a billion-dollar industry that yields lucrative broadcasting deals and widespread national attention. Whether this is a problem that requires addressing is an issue in and of itself, but what I find even more concerning is how our society is unable to respond when a star athlete is accused of sexual assault.
On July 1, 2003, Kobe Bryant was on top of the world. He had won three championships in a row from 2000 to 2002 and made the last two All-NBA first teams. Bryant had flown to Colorado, where he was scheduled to have surgery the next day, and engaged in sexual activities with a 19-year-old who worked at the hotel where he was staying. The woman accused Bryant of raping her, and while Bryant admitted to participating in the encounter, he denied that it was non-consensual.
Let’s look at the facts. We know that Bryant’s attorneys tried to attack the accuser’s credibility by insisting that she was having sex with multiple partners. According to the Los Angeles Times, the defense team also claimed that the accuser “had a ‘scheme’ to have sex with Bryant and others to gain the attention of a former boyfriend.” We know that the accuser’s blood was found on Bryant’s shirt. We know that the criminal case was dismissed because the accuser eventually decided not to testify, and we know that the two sides reached an undisclosed settlement after the accuser filed a civil lawsuit. We know that Bryant, in a public apology, said, “I now understand how she feels that she did not consent to this encounter.” But he also maintained, “I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual,” refusing to accept responsibility and admit guilt.
First of all, it is important to emphasize that Bryant was not deemed innocent by a jury. The trial was dismissed because, without the testimony of the accuser, the prosecution did not have enough evidence to mount a case. If you stab someone with a knife and the police can’t find the knife, it doesn’t mean you didn’t do it. It just means that our legal system cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you are actually a criminal. However, just because the actual courts have such a standard of proof doesn’t mean the court of public opinion should be the same way. When you combine this with the widely cited statistic that only 2 percent of rape accusations are fabricated, it seems unreasonable to assume that an allegation like the one against Bryant is false. One would hope that the public and the media would take a similar stance.
So what happened? In the short term, Bryant did suffer a public relations hit and had multiple endorsers pull their support. But by the time the dust had settled and the court dates came to a close, the accusation was pretty much forgotten. Bryant changed his number and claimed he was a changed man as a result of the incident. The endorsements picked up within two years of the incident, and Bryant won two more NBA titles and two Olympic gold medals while continuing to receive awards and praise from the league and its players. In the wake of the announcement that he is retiring, all that is mentioned are his accomplishments on the court. His actions outside of the arena have not been ignored.
The case of Larry Nance Jr. epitomizes the league’s view of Bryant. In 2012, Nance Jr. was playing college basketball at the University of Wyoming when he tweeted the following in anticipation of a game between Bryant’s Lakers and the Denver Nuggets: “Gee I sure hope Kobe can keep his hands to himself in Denver this time. #rapist.” Rather than standing by his tweet, Nance Jr. deleted it as soon as he was selected by the Lakers in the 2015 NBA Draft. As it turns out, it was Nance Jr. who felt nervous and apologized to Bryant, and Nance Jr. also felt the need ask the Lakers’ fan base for forgiveness with an Instagram post.
In general, sports teams are quick to dismiss second-tier players who are accused of domestic crimes, such as when the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs immediately cut rookie Justin Cox as soon as he was charged with domestic assault. But with more talented players, most teams are hesitant to take action. Quarterback Jameis Winston was accused of sexual assault while at Florida State, and while Winston was not charged due to lack of evidence, the civil suit will not even begin until May 2017. Did anyone care? Apparently not, because the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Winston with the first overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft, and he is in the running to win the Rookie of the Year Award.
Sexual assault is an urgent issue, especially on college campuses, so when Brown students discuss the accomplishments of athletes like Kobe Bryant without even mentioning his off-the-court behavior, it perpetuates rape culture. We need to do what professional sports leagues won’t and condemn these players. As Brown students it is our responsibility to take a stand by refusing to extol such athletes despite their impressive resumes. The next time someone asks me to talk about my favorite Kobe Bryant moment, I’ll do something he rarely does: pass.
Adam Horowitz ’16 can be reached at adam_horowitz@brown.edu.
