Food for thought

Innocent or guilty, Kobe's image may never be the same

The amount of information you have would fit comfortably into a thimble. All you know is that Kobe Bryant was arrested on suspicion of felony sexual assault in Colorado, and that he was released after turning himself in and posting a $25,000 bond. But that's all you need to know to start your mind racing. This is why scandalized celebrities quickly find that "innocent until proven guilty" means nothing in the court of public opinion. The Constitution can't keep people from thinking, and admit it, you've been thinking all kinds of things about Kobe and his situation, good and bad, from the moment you heard the news.

You're thinking: Kobe seemed too good to be true -- all that supposed European sophistication from spending a large portion of his childhood in Italy, the way he rarely hung out with his teammates, preferring to stay in his room and write poetry instead of going club-hopping after games. He couldn't really be that angelic, could he? And what about how he gushed over his wife and their daughter, who was born in January? Maybe he's a phony, just like the rest of them, pretending to be a devoted family man while he has another life on the side, just as Magic Johnson and Wade Boggs and Kirby Puckett apparently did before him. We've seen this story before. This is the world, post- O.J. Anyone is capable of anything.

You're thinking: What's going to happen to that carefully cultivated Kobe image? What about his new endorsement deal with Nike? You just know there have been some very anxious phone conversations between the sneaker pushers and Kobe's people. Then there are those Sprite commercials. If Kobe's not careful, the soda folks will drop him faster than you can say "Obey your thirst." All of his other endorsement opportunities could dry up if this allegation turns out to have any basis in fact.

You're thinking: This could cost Kobe millions in off-the-court earnings, whether he's convicted or not. Even if he's not guilty, it certainly sounds as if he was somewhere a married man shouldn't have been, doesn't it? Is this the tip of the iceberg? Are we going to find out that Kobe's kinky? We may be talking Marv Albert all over again. If they let cameras in the courtroom, this might be the next great reality TV series.

You're thinking: Court TV will have a field day with this if it goes to trial. So would the tabloids and the supposedly "legitimate" press. Poor Kobe. The media's going to eat him for lunch. It's a shame the way reporters turn a person's life inside out when he's the center of a scandal. In an attempt at damage control, Kobe might end up pouring out his soul in prime time to Barbara Walters or Diane Sawyer before this is all over, which would be worse than any sentence a judge could give him.

You're thinking: Maybe Kobe's the victim in all this, a victim of the media, a victim of his own squeaky-clean image, maybe even the victim of some gold-digger who's just trying to get into his pocket by making up a phony story. Perhaps the surprising thing is that this hasn't happened to him before, when he entered the league fresh out of high school. Maybe it all goes back to that, to a young man who got too much -- too much money, too much fame -- too fast. Kobe wouldn't be the first celebrity in that situation to make the wrong choice.

But did he make the wrong choice? You will probably find out the answer to that in the coming days and weeks, but guilty or innocent, Kobe's public image may never be the same. Why? Because you keep thinking.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Phil Taylor writes about a Hot Button topic every Monday on SI.com.

 

Related information

Stories

Bryant accused of sexual assault in Colorado Previous Phil Taylor columns

Multimedia

Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video