I’m not aware of anyone who turned to that first and the few news reporters who have gingerly broached the subject have either sandwiched it within fawning praise or been silenced by their employers. A few have brought it up as balance to the initial coverage that appears to only refer to his accomplishments while ignoring some very real flaws. It’s not unmerciful or unreasonable to want those very real flaws mentioned along with the unrestrained adoration.
Not mentioning it at all is disrespectful to the woman he violently raped.
@milee30 he died yesterday morning…their bodies are still strewn across a hillside in California…the shock is here now…this is real life and real grief. 3 children were killed. Another 7 children have lost a parent.
I don’t know if he “violently raped” a woman 17 years ago (you don’t know either)…all I’m saying is mercy and kindness for the families is what is needed now in these first few hours and days.
The sexual assault case never went to trial but there was a civil settlement. It seems to be one of those things that what really happened will never be known. He said in his apology that “Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did.”
So how long is it proper to wait to discuss things like this? Do we only talk about sports accomplishments for a certain period of time and only after that period has expired can we gingerly mention any bad behavior? Are we really so enthralled with sports celebrities that we willfully ignore if their private life contained some truly heinous actions? Do we choose to be merciful to certain families (who we protect by refraining from mentioning rape) by sacrificing the feelings of the others (the families of the woman who was raped)?
We need to figure out as a society how to talk about the entirety of a person’s actions and accomplishments, not try to compel silence because we consider rape an uncomfortable subject. Not talking about sexual assault is part of why we continue to have issues with it - our society wants people to remain quiet because it’s easier and more comfortable to not talk about it. Forget that. The families of the victims and the victims themselves have just as much right to acknowledgement and consideration as the families of the people who assault others.
It’s completely reasonable to want to at least mention Kobe’s bad behavior alongside all the hero worship.
Outlets covering the media industry report that the WaPo reporter was suspended for tweeting screenshots of her in box with full name and contact of those who contacted her and criticized her. Doing so violates WaPo’s explicit social media policy.
@milee30 - and people are talking about it. Numerous stories about his entire life circulating today, less than 24 hours after his death, while his body is still lying out at the crash site. Is this fast enough? You google his name and the sexual assault case comes up over and over again.
We must be seeing different coverage because I haven’t seen much mention of anything other than his sports achievements. But if it’s being discussed in other outlets, that is positive.
I too am confused by this faux discretion rationale. He was a very public figure. This is a public discussion, of his public actions. If he did not want the matter mentioned in his obit upon his death, he should not have committed the act.
None of us are discussing it with his family or at the memorial service, right? It seems now is precisely the time such a fuller account of his life would be discussed. If not now, when?
I am sure we all have sympathy for the other victims and their families but relatively little news about them, as their deaths are publicly noteworthy for the media just in connect to Bryant’s.
I have a very slight connection to Kobe. I was interviewed and quoted about his new basketball shoes. They were low cut and I didn’t like them since kids would use them and not realize that pros get taped during games and they could lead to ankle sprains. But he didn’t listen to me and made millions.
Reconciling the good and bad of Kobe after his death reminds me of Joe Paterno’s death. Another revered sports figure, loved by many, but who had a stain on his legacy due to his involvement in Jerry Sandusky’s child molestation.
It’s hard to talk about people like this. People who seem to be mostly good but have something significant in their past that calls into question how much of their goodness should be erased or overshadowed as if there is some sort of ledger we can use to calculate their overall net worth to society.
I understand that investigation of the accident is important. But still it’s quite sad that bodies had to be left on site for so long. That must be torture for survivors.
Alrighty then, on a completely different tangent, is anyone here familiar with this type of helicopter? I fly VFR for about 5 minutes every ten years, so I know zip about that, and nothing about helicopters. If you couldn’t maintain VFR, why wouldn’t you just ask to climb to 5,000 feet (or whatever a safe altitude was) and go IFR, into the weather but stay away from the terrain? I can’t believe the helicopter didn’t have adequate instrumentation nor the pilot couldn’t read the instruments. What’s the big deal? And if ATC says says unable, you declare an emergency and do it anyways. What am I missing? Any helicopter pilots here?
I saw that the Lakers aren’t playing on Tuesday as scheduled. Photos of the team crying are heartbreaking.
Also reading about the lives and families of the other victims is so sad - especially the children. I agree it must be torture to know the remains are still at the crash site.
Deaths happen all around us every day, but high profile ones like this out of the blue are a gut check that time is finite. Everything can be turned upside down in an instant. Lizzo spoke well about it last night at the Grammys.
“If you couldn’t maintain VFR, why wouldn’t you just ask to climb to 5,000 feet (or whatever a safe altitude was) and go IFR, into the weather but stay away from the terrain? I can’t believe the helicopter didn’t have adequate instrumentation nor the pilot couldn’t read the instruments. What’s the big deal? And if ATC says says unable, you declare an emergency and do it anyways. What am I missing? Any helicopter pilots here”
Not a pilot, but I was reading some comments from pilots on WaPo and they said that type of maneuvering and instrument flying is complex on that type of helicopter. Needed two pilots to do it adequately and also lots of practice to maintain skills.