Kobe Bryant dead from Helicopter crash

[Mr.wizard]

The apology didn't have anything to do with his contract, The apology was probably part of the settlement in exchange for not pursuing the criminal charges. This is evident because Bryant doesn't issue this apology until after the case is dropped, his team did everything they could to smear the girl but when they found out prosecutors had enough evidence to go to trial they cut a deal. 

The NBA is not going to have you make statements that could affect you legally in order to sign a contract, i'm not sure if that's even legal but most of all the players union would never allow it.

Nonetheless, Bryant having been motivated to write the letter after being enlightened to her apparent psychiatric condition is remarkably plausible, IMO. 
Her presumed schizophrenic disorder could also easily explain why some witnesses reported her being elated, giddy and bragging about the big Black celebrity cock she got one moment, and others reported her appearing angry and depressed about it--And in assuming she wasn't lying just to lie, perhaps why she later contacted detectives to inform them that detailed account she gave of Bryant looming over and forcing her wash up of the encounter never even happened. 

If Bryant had known of her condition prior to the encounter, one could easily submit that he took advantage of her condition (at the least), and I would be inclined to agree. But he didn't.

She was a stranger to him.

Like or not, her apparent condition would and should have been extremely relevant in determining Bryant's guilt in a court of law. Not as a means of simply dismissing her account by sole virtue of her having mental health issues, but because her condition clearly seemed to illicit drastically different perceptions of the encounter from her at different times.One in which she expressed having had a fun time nailing a celebrity, and one in which she she felt violated.

You and several others here might feel comfortable simply glossing over or ignoring such glaring contradictions, barreling ahead and labeling Bryant a rapist, but I'm not.

Nobody glossed over anything, the defense said she was on medication, that doesn't prove she wasn't thinking clearly at that time or she couldn't be raped. She was at work obviously functioning like a sane person and she obviously was functioning well enough because the hotel allowed her to be around Bryant and give him a tour of the hotel. The rape kit and the findings from medical professionals state that the injuries and bleeding were not consistent with consensual sex. There was enough to go trial and enough that Bryants team was not interested in proving his supposed innocence but more interested in settling out of court.

[Athene]

Nobody glossed over anything, the defense said she was on medication, that doesn't prove she wasn't thinking clearly at that time or she couldn't be raped.

The details regarding behavior associated with her mental condition provide reasonable doubt. 
And plenty of it, in my view.

Allowing for the possibility she could've been raped, doesn't cut it. Running with premises of "Anything could've happened, so let's all go ahead and call Kobe a rapist, just in case" or "It's better for all victims to just go ahead and say he is, even though there's compelling evidence to the contrary", doesn't work for me.

She was at work obviously functioning like a sane person and she obviously was functioning well enough because the hotel allowed her to be around Bryant and give him a tour of the hotel.

 

Yes, and well enough to consent sex at the time. But we know that schizophrenic episodes can be marked psychotic delusions and hallucinations resulting in a complete detachment from reality. The point is she may have experienced an onset or escalation of symptoms after the event that changed her perception of the encounter--as what clearly appeared to have happened in accordance to various witness accounts AND her harrowing recollection of menacingly being forced to wash her face and tidy her appearance up before leaving Bryant's room and then later stating, no, no that didn't happen--she simply checked her face and hair, out in hallway.
I don't condone automatically discount or dismiss anyone's sexual assault accounts of mental illness--But if one's mental illness results in them suffering ongoing or shifting delusions specific to the event in question, then yes, it most certainly does matter.

The rape kit and the findings from medical professionals state that the injuries and bleeding were not consistent with consensual sex.

Again, the injuries were ALSO consistent with rough sex and/or having multiple partners within a brief time span. Rape cannot be isolated as the sole possible cause of her injuries. Bryant admitted to engaging in his go-to position rough sex position with her, and her rape kit included multiple semen samples--Enough to indicate that she engaged in intercourse shortly after her encounter with Bryant--which she attributed to a laundry mishap before her examination. 

Her story was a mess; It was quite literally all over the place, and that is why I am unconvinced that she was raped by Bryant.

There was enough to go trial and enough that Bryants team was not interested in proving his supposed innocence but more interested in settling out of court.

The criminal case was dropped because the accuser refused to testify.

I don't think it's all that unusual for individuals to opt for settling out of court instead of proceeding with a long, drawn-out civil trial; Innocent or not. Perhaps he wanted to spare himself, his wife, and his career any further humiliation by having a spotlight put on his extramarital activities longer than necessary--and/or perhaps being made aware of his accuser's extensive mental health issues actually did make him feel bad (as his letter seems to indicate) and thus more receptive to the idea giving her a settlement as opposed to the idea of paying off a conniving groupie who was simply looking for a quick payout.

IDK, though. He's dead now, so no one can ask him.

[Mr.wizard]

This is just pure speculation, you have no idea what her condition even is or how serious it is, the point is she is a functioning adult who wasn't experiencing any sort of delusional behavior during the incident and she was able to an accurate description of what happened that night which was also confirmed by Bryant himself, the only point of contention was the consent.

Her injuries were not consistent with rough sex, the medical report found it "not to be consistent with consensual sex". A sexually active women is not going to tear and bleed during "rough sex" that lasted 5 minutes.

---

Why is this such a problem for you, I think he raped her, I believe her and not him, I don't see why your so upset about it?

[Athene]

This is just pure speculation, you have no idea what her condition even is or how serious it is, the point is she is a functioning adult who wasn't experiencing any sort of delusional behavior during the incident and she was able to an accurate description of what happened that night which was also confirmed by Bryant himself, the only point of contention was the consent.

Her injuries were not consistent with rough sex, the medical report found it "not to be consistent with consensual sex". A sexually active women is not going to tear and bleed during "rough sex" that lasted 5 minutes.

---

Why is this such a problem for you, I think he raped her, I believe her and not him, I don't see why your so upset about it?

Pure speculation? Authorities confirmed that the accuser had made 2 recent suicide attempts prior to the encounter with Bryant and was indeed taking prescribed medication for the treatment of schizophrenia. Witness accounts and her own retraction of pertinent details following the alleged assault clearly demonstrate drastic disparities in her perception of the event AND clear lies and/or extraordinary confusion in regards to her original statement.

That sort of evidence cannot simply be ignored by a court of law, no matter what you say.
It presents a solid foundation for reasonable doubt.

And yes, vigorous consensual sex can result in vaginal injuries similar to rape. Google it, if you don't believe me. And once again, so can multiple partners within a brief time span--Which again, was evidenced in her rape kit.

Btw---I'm not upset that you believe the accuser, nor do I care actually. You're not a sitting judge, network executive or anything like that as far I can tell, so I'm honestly baffled as to why you would think I feel you're that important. You started a dialogue with me on based off of a post that I directed at Huggy, remember? I've simply been responding to the thoughts and queries you directed at me, with my own thoughts. 

That's how discussion forums work.

[Shell B]

Just a quick question/observation here. Imagine you're white, living your life completely uncaring of race. You're not racist in any sense of the word. You support a future that includes, not reparations, but a restructuring of many things to correct the economic and educational disadvantages caused by past laws. Imagine someone treats you like you personally fucked over their whole family every time you speak to them. Do you think it's fair to feel racially profiled at the very least? Maybe it's not fair to make assumptions based on people's race, no matter what their race is.

Well, I am white, and I do say so. But that's not really the point. It's more incidental than anything. I mean, any of you, regardless of race, lol, can just look up Kobe's quote where he admitted that he understood that the interaction was not consensual on the girl's part. Meaning, in short, it wasn't consensual. All parties have to consent when it comes to sex. End of story. That's just sort of how that whole thing works, believe it or not. You being a victim of sexual assault in the past, if I'm not mistaken, I figured you'd be on the other side of this here, if there are even sides. This has nothing to do with me being white, or you being Puerto Rican, or someone else being a Danish transgender power lifter who collects stamps and really enjoys the band System of a Down.

So, while it's cute to just call me an entitled white asshole and not actually respond to any of my points with logical, well-thought out ideas, it doesn't actually lead to any sort of interesting or meaningful discussion. In fact, it totally leaves me to believe that the poster who put that image up (also, how are you seeing the pic and I'm not?) simply wanted to play the race card to shut me up. Trying to silence someone by saying "you're white and privileged so your opinion doesn't count" is just silly and a bit bully-ish. Granted, let me stop anyone before they try it, I'm not claiming to be a victim here, because I know everyone in the race to be woke loves to use that line any time a straight white male points out that someone else isn't fighting fair. It usually sounds like something like, "Oh, look at the poor white guy crying for being bullied! Boohoo!" No. I'm just pointing out that it's silly to play the race card and then no actually care enough to make  valid points about the topic at that hand.

It's akin to saying, you're white so your opinion doesn't count. Well, sorry to break it to ya: that's racist.

So, all of that being said... No, I cannot imagine, and never will be able to imagine, what it's like to be black in America. 90% of my friends are black. Three of my cousins are black. And I've dated more black girls than I can count on both hands. I've heard plenty of terrible stories. Horror stories. But I think it's simply so foreign to me that my brain cannot imagine what it would be like to be treated that way. At the end of the day, I simply do not wake up in the morning and think about the color of my skin. And I admit, I'm privileged enough that I don't have to think about the color of my skin. That's not a luxury that lots of people of color get. But you know what? That's not really my problem. It must suck, seriously. My sympathy is with anyone who has to deal with that shit. It must be terrible, and certainly wouldn't help your self-esteem... constantly being told you're less than  because you're not white, in so many words. Yeah, that's shitty.

But shell b, just relax there hun. I'm from the hood. I grew up blocks away from East Cleveland. The nickname for that neighborhood was Baghdad. I know black people far more than you ever have or will. And don't get me wrong, the ghetto doesn't encapsulate what being black is, but I very much grew up around and surrounded by African-American culture. So your little self-righteous crusade for the black folks comes off as a little cringey.

I don't pretend to know what it's like to be black in America, and I never will. But I do get black culture in that I grew up in it. And I'd sort of happy for that because growing up in a neighborhood like that allowed me to meet people from all different races and walks of life at a very young age. I tried lots of different types of foods growing up, heard different languages being spoken around me. Very interesting stuff. My childhood was actually pretty eventful in a lot of ways.

So yeah, the suburban white girl trying to tell me about "imagine what it's like to be black" is a little funny, to say the least.


But that's not really the issue at hand here. You can look up Kobe's words for yourself... Here ya' go:

https://www.duckduckGo.com

Search for yourself.

And look, I get it.

"The poor little white man is so blinded by his privilege that he doesn't see the point"

No, I get it. And I'm simply telling you that in this case, that's not what we're talking about. What we're talking about is a man who had a sexual encounter with a woman who did not consent to sex. Very easy. Very simple. And listen, if it all was a set up, and Kobe truly was just a victim of some scheme by some psycho bitch who wanted a quick dollar and her little fifteen minutes of fame, then that is horrible. That's fucking terrifying. But given Bryant's own words, I simply do not think that's the case here.

My main point however, was that I'm not demonizing Bryant, and I hope you guys get that. Once again, a man is more than just a terrible mistake he made, or a terrible choice he made, once upon a time.

I simply think that the sexual assault thing was a part of his history, and I'm confused by the backlash people are getting for bringing it up.

I mean for christs fucking sake he admitted to having a non-consensual sexual encounter with a woman... holy fuck people come on.

Good lawd, man. Did you really just tell me to calm down, call me "hun" and try to "I know black people better than you." me?

A few things here, bud. My post was perfectly calm. It wasn't directed at you. It was a hypothetical question not remotely directed at you. I'm not your hun. Don't fucking demean me. I'm not that bitch. Also, you don't know a single, solitary thing about me. I was born and spent half my childhood in Brockton, MA. Fucking suburban white girl? Yeah, I am. Now. Quite recently. I'm not going to count black people around me because that's sickening. That you just tried to compare black people exposure with me is gross. You're gross.

Finally, I wasn't asking you to imagine being black. I was posing a hypothetical for people suggesting all white people hate black people or are dangerous to black people to imagine what it's like to be a white person who isn't dangerous to black people or hate black people being painted with that brush. It hurts. It's racial profiling. My post was an attempt to help others see a different point of view, but not you because my post was not about you.

Why do I feel like this isn't the first time you wigged on me about a post that wasn't directed at you and that you misunderstood? I could be imagining it, but the deja vu feels real. Maybe ask me what I mean before you lose your shit. Maybe get to know me before you assume my life is as culturally diverse as Greek yogurt? Maybe, stop thinking everything is about you.

*cue the post where you're still mad even though you had no goddamn reason whatsoever to take my post personally and no one ever asked you or anyone else to imagine being black*

[Shell B]

Black people don't have that luxury. for example, I live in and open carry state and white people are able to open carry all up in the grocery store, do you think it'd be a good idea for me to live my life completely uncaring of race and do the same?

No. I asked you to imagine being someone who doesn't care about race. I don't at all suggest that black people have that luxury, though I think they probably do in some areas.

Do you believe that the Jews should not have gotten reparations also?

Jews who were alive during the Holocaust and were harmed by it should, yes. People who were never slaves should not get reparations for slavery from people who never owned slaves. That sets a crazy precedent where we can all go after societies around the globe for historical grievances belonging to our ancestors.

Why are you taking what I said personally?

I'm not. What aren't you addressing my point? I know, but not personally in the way you would, that being black leads to lots of racial profiling and worse. Still, that doesn't change the fact that it makes white people who aren't racist feel icky when someone suggests white people are by default racist or every time we disagree with you it has something to do with race. It's like you can't imagine that one of us lighter toned folk wasn't even thinking about Kobe being black while talking about his life.

[no one]

The huggy bears of the world have exclusive rights to pity parties, as they are the only humans in history to face abuse, injustice, and oppression.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Not every bad thing that happens to black people is due to racist white people.  Does that mean that racism NEVER negatively impacts black people?  Nope.  It means that there are occasions when black people are the victims of racism and there are occasions when they aren't.  I don't think Bryant is a victim.

Boru

[Mr.wizard]

This is just pure speculation, you have no idea what her condition even is or how serious it is, the point is she is a functioning adult who wasn't experiencing any sort of delusional behavior during the incident and she was able to an accurate description of what happened that night which was also confirmed by Bryant himself, the only point of contention was the consent.

Her injuries were not consistent with rough sex, the medical report found it "not to be consistent with consensual sex". A sexually active women is not going to tear and bleed during "rough sex" that lasted 5 minutes.

---

Why is this such a problem for you, I think he raped her, I believe her and not him, I don't see why your so upset about it?

Pure speculation? Authorities confirmed that the accuser had made 2 recent suicide attempts prior to the encounter with Bryant and was indeed taking prescribed medication for the treatment of schizophrenia. Witness accounts and her own retraction of pertinent details following the alleged assault clearly demonstrate drastic disparities in her perception of the event AND clear lies and/or extraordinary confusion in regards to her original statement.

That sort of evidence cannot simply be ignored by a court of law, no matter what you say.
It presents a solid foundation for reasonable doubt.

And yes, vigorous consensual sex can result in vaginal injuries similar to rape. Google it, if you don't believe me. And once again, so can multiple partners within a brief time span--Which again, was evidenced in her rape kit.

Btw---I'm not upset that you believe the accuser, nor do I care actually. You're not a sitting judge, network executive or anything like that as far I can tell, so I'm honestly baffled as to why you would think I feel you're that important. You started a dialogue with me on based off of a post that I directed at Huggy, remember? I've simply been responding to the thoughts and queries you directed at me, with my own thoughts. 

That's how discussion forums work.

I don't have to google anything, the medical report said "not consistent with consensual sex", what good what it do me who is not a medical professional, to look up other injuries and try to compare them. The whole reason they do a rape kit and examination is because they can identify the trauma consistent with a rape. 

The fact that this was going to trial tells you that they felt there was enough evidence to prosecute, I don't know what else to tell you. The evidence was not on Bryant's side in this case which is why they were going after things like the type of meds she was taking. Bryant's team knew they were in trouble which is why they settled out of court and issued an apology. 

You seem upset about it, telling me I'm just glossing over things and barreling ahead to label him rapist, as if I took no time to look at the evidence and just want to label him a rapist.

[no one]

BSB4:
Not every bad thing that happens to black people is due to racist white people.  Does that mean that racism NEVER negatively impacts black people?  Nope.  It means that there are occasions when black people are the victims of racism and there are occasions when they aren't.  I don't think Bryant is a victim.

This is where you are woefully mistaken good sir. Of course everything bad that happens to the darkies is at the expressed desire of whitey. All whites are racist. Every. Single. One. Of. Them. Every, single, one! As a matter of fact, everyone hates the darkies, everyone. Everyone is out to get them! When the first humans stepped foot out of what is now known as Africa, and they were greeted by the harsh hostilities of life, it was whiteys fault.

Get your facts straight! It's just embarrassing at this point!