I don't know if I'm in the minority, but it hurt worse than either Giants Super Bowls for me.
The trouble with Kobe. An Appology
- Thread starter reggiecleveland
- Start date
What a terrific post all the way around. I’m sorry to derail a bit on such a minor point but as someone who is still pained by the loss in the finals that year, I was intrigued by the suggestion that the refs may have aided the C’s game 7 collapse. Can anyone point me to any good articles or posts that lay out the scenario?
Calling Kobe a rapist shouldn't be controversial, and doing so certainly isn't someone speaking from a privileged perspective. He committed a crime and got away with it, and was glorified by the league just the same. Situation is hardly unique to Kobe and the NBA; Ray Lewis has a media gig these days.
As for him being a "Top 10", that's just absurd. But proof that people love POINTZ above all else.
As for him being a "Top 10", that's just absurd. But proof that people love POINTZ above all else.
IIRC, the big question was the 37-17 discrepancy in free throw attempts, with Bryant going to the line 15 times. The Lakers had a 19-6 advantage in the 4th quarter alone, although 4 of those free throws were in situations that the Celtics had to foul.
My Alma mater Dayton has a player named Kobe Elvis. Great kid but he is unfortunately named after two less than stellar human beings.
It was pretty close for me because going 2-0 against Kobe in the finals and closing them out on their home court and their annoying fans would have just been so satisfying.
The 2nd Giants SB didn’t really hurt that much for me because I never thought that 2011 team was that good - it was more annoying because of all those storylines and the Welker drop. But SB42 hurt more than 2010 Game 7 although the gap wasn’t huge for me. I wanted that 2nd Big 3 title so badly. They deserved one.
Kobe got lucky KG got hurt in 2009 and he, again, got lucky with all that Game 7 BS. Should have only won 3 titles.
F Kobe. Never liked him on or off the court.
Here is a quote from a man to look up to and is excellent advice, in all walks of life, for all kids and young people.
“Understand what a professional is all about. Be a pro. Show up to work, be ready to work, if you’re on time, you’re late. Put the work in. The game gives back to you when you put the work in; that’s what the game gods do. Come to the gym. One of the first ones to the gym. You’re one of the last ones to leave. Just pour it all into the game if you want to be great and if you want to be someone that will never be forgotten in this league.”
I’ve been up and down on Lebron over his career but overall, he has carried himself very well and is a role model. Truly love this message.
Here is a quote from a man to look up to and is excellent advice, in all walks of life, for all kids and young people.
“Understand what a professional is all about. Be a pro. Show up to work, be ready to work, if you’re on time, you’re late. Put the work in. The game gives back to you when you put the work in; that’s what the game gods do. Come to the gym. One of the first ones to the gym. You’re one of the last ones to leave. Just pour it all into the game if you want to be great and if you want to be someone that will never be forgotten in this league.”
I’ve been up and down on Lebron over his career but overall, he has carried himself very well and is a role model. Truly love this message.
It was close, but the 2008 Super Bowl was worse for me. Mostly because living in Northern CT there are tons of Giants around and I STILL hear about that pretty regularly. I don't run into Laker fans too often, but Giants fans are all over the place in CT and there are a surprising amount in Western Mass also. Also, I still honestly believe that Patriots team was actually better than the 6 that won the Super Bowl. Losing the undefeated season and the recognition as the Greatest Team of All Time will sting forever. It drives me crazy every time I see the 72 Dolphins player crack the champagne when the last undefeated team loses every year. And Assante Samuel needs to STFU because they would have received the accolades they deserved if he hadn't dropped that shitty pass Eli threw right to him. Not to mention the holding of Seymour that wasn't called and the ensuing helmet catch. All of that would have been irrelevant if the offensive line didn't suck that whole game. It all adds up to the perfect storm of pain.
Having said that, the "6-24 MVP" makes me sick, and the fact that Kobe was a wretched human being but gets idolized anyway makes me sicker. Everything in the OP is right on the money.
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I feel the same way about Kobe as many others in this thread. One thing that hasn't really been mentioned was his creepy, borderline obsessive need to mimic Jordan's game in nearly every way. It wasn't just enough to take MJ's offensive moves and incorporate them into his game. Kobe had to do it exactly the same way, with the same mannerisms and note-for-note body movements. It was as if he was method-acting as Jordan on the court at times. Except he was nowhere near as good.
Third biggest hurt of my sporting lifetime, behind 2003 Red Sox (I was young and innocent) and SB 42 (still the most significant / feels worst in retrospect). It's definitely worse than SB46, where the Patriots weren't even the better team.
As Reggie pointed out, the worst are the what-ifs: Perkins being out + some seriously questionable reffing.
Pete Zayas had a very nice retrospective / analysis a few years ago for The Athletic. There are too many short video clips for me to quote snippets and have it make any sense, but he focuses more on Perkins' missing rebounding than (A) the reffing, or (B) the offensive side of Perkins' game.
Either way, in conclusion, fuck Kobe Bryant, and I expect history will eventually not be so kind to him.
Great post @reggiecleveland
I have often wondered this as well about Kobe. People will go great lengths to deify their sports heroes. I mean, the NFL is littered with dudes that did horrible shit but are put on a pedestal. Sports can be odd in that way.
I have often wondered this as well about Kobe. People will go great lengths to deify their sports heroes. I mean, the NFL is littered with dudes that did horrible shit but are put on a pedestal. Sports can be odd in that way.
In terms of how they played and approached the game, I think Kobe and MJ were extremely similar. The major distinction is that Jordan was better than Kobe, which led to Jordan being a more efficient offensive player, which makes their playing styles feel somewhat different. Jordan and Kobe both had the approach of going out there and taking a million shots, but Jordan shot at an above 50% rate, so even if it wasn't the most fluid, team-basketball that coaches idolize, it was often the best offensive strategy. Kobe had the same approach, but wasn't nearly as efficient, and the result was that he was seen as a egomaniacal ballhog. Jordan was the same way, but Jordan was so good that him taking 12 contested mid-range jumpers was actually very efficient offense.
Kobe grew up and broke into the NBA in an era where Jordan was a god. He was worshipped by everyone, and a whole generation of players that came after Jordan wanted to Be Like Mike. Kobe, T-Mac, Vince Carter, Allen Iverson, even Paul Pierce, in their own way, they patterned their game after Jordan. That wasn't probably the best use of all of their talents, but that was what the game demanded of them. It was a particularly ugly time for NBA basketball, but I think some of the negative parts of Kobe's game have to be contextualized in the era he played in. None of the top scorers were particularly efficient--offenses in the NBA overall were pretty miserable, and the result is all of those guys I listed above are some of the least efficient big-time scorers in NBA history.
If Kobe had been born 20 years later, I think his approach to the game would have been very different, and he would have been a more efficient scorer. But anyone that was a hyperathletic #2 guard coming in at the end of the Jordan years was going to end up playing like Jordan, even if they lacked Jordan's one-of-a-kind talent.
In terms of his legacy today, it's mostly just a case of a lot of players now having grown up watching Kobe, who was the most heavily marketed player of his generation. And Kobe won, a lot. Now, we can all poke holes in why and how he won, but for NBA players they don't need a ton of justification to love the player they grew up watching. Kobe played super hard, worked hard on his game, and won. Even if the mythos is just that, a myth that isn't really true, you are not going to be able to convince people that loved him growing up (and maybe had some personal interaction with him when they were young professionals) that a lot of Kobe's image doesn't hold up to closer scrutiny.
Kobe grew up and broke into the NBA in an era where Jordan was a god. He was worshipped by everyone, and a whole generation of players that came after Jordan wanted to Be Like Mike. Kobe, T-Mac, Vince Carter, Allen Iverson, even Paul Pierce, in their own way, they patterned their game after Jordan. That wasn't probably the best use of all of their talents, but that was what the game demanded of them. It was a particularly ugly time for NBA basketball, but I think some of the negative parts of Kobe's game have to be contextualized in the era he played in. None of the top scorers were particularly efficient--offenses in the NBA overall were pretty miserable, and the result is all of those guys I listed above are some of the least efficient big-time scorers in NBA history.
If Kobe had been born 20 years later, I think his approach to the game would have been very different, and he would have been a more efficient scorer. But anyone that was a hyperathletic #2 guard coming in at the end of the Jordan years was going to end up playing like Jordan, even if they lacked Jordan's one-of-a-kind talent.
In terms of his legacy today, it's mostly just a case of a lot of players now having grown up watching Kobe, who was the most heavily marketed player of his generation. And Kobe won, a lot. Now, we can all poke holes in why and how he won, but for NBA players they don't need a ton of justification to love the player they grew up watching. Kobe played super hard, worked hard on his game, and won. Even if the mythos is just that, a myth that isn't really true, you are not going to be able to convince people that loved him growing up (and maybe had some personal interaction with him when they were young professionals) that a lot of Kobe's image doesn't hold up to closer scrutiny.
In re L.A. and the Black community, it's absolutely correct that the African American community in general idolizes him and especially L.A.'s Black community. Granted he's very, very popular everywhere in L.A. -- how the rape is whitewashed out is sickening -- but there's a level of idolizing him that is over the top in Black sections of the city. (He's seemingly part of every mural, for example, invoked in all sorts of other ways, too.) And, as someone pointed out above, it isn't as if there are a lack of Black alternatives to idolize, as there might be in other fields. Hell, Kareem is very present in L.A., a far, far better player, and a far, far, faaaaaar better person and...yet, Kobe's the God.
As for his game, I fully agree he's maybe top 20-ish. A stud, but not efficient and inexcusably selfish. In terms of spoiled, Kobe-idealizing Lakers fans, a lot of them can't stand LBJ and it leaves me gob-smacked to listen to how he's insulted for "lacking Mamba mentality" and other such nonsense.
As for his game, I fully agree he's maybe top 20-ish. A stud, but not efficient and inexcusably selfish. In terms of spoiled, Kobe-idealizing Lakers fans, a lot of them can't stand LBJ and it leaves me gob-smacked to listen to how he's insulted for "lacking Mamba mentality" and other such nonsense.
He sucked as a human being, and it sucks that so many in the sports media don't even know or want to know any more about what happened in Colorado.
The most glaring example I can remember was Simmons doing a pod with J.A. Adande in the aftermath of his death. Bill brought up Colorado, and Adande got a little indignant. There was an obvious edit that sounded terrible, and I'm sure it was a diatribe about "Now is not the time!" to discuss the matter. Then they were off the subject and on to other things. Every time his death is discussed on anniversary of his passing, I want a media type to ask, "Is now the time? If not, when would be a good time?" Sadly, I think a big part of the reason is that so many put this turd on a pedestal and the peer pressure would be unbearable from the Adande types.
Finally, whenever I see posts on social media declaring him the greatest Laker ever, I like to remind them he's not even in the top 3 Lakers of all time. The mouthebreathing cult of Kobe just loves that.
The most glaring example I can remember was Simmons doing a pod with J.A. Adande in the aftermath of his death. Bill brought up Colorado, and Adande got a little indignant. There was an obvious edit that sounded terrible, and I'm sure it was a diatribe about "Now is not the time!" to discuss the matter. Then they were off the subject and on to other things. Every time his death is discussed on anniversary of his passing, I want a media type to ask, "Is now the time? If not, when would be a good time?" Sadly, I think a big part of the reason is that so many put this turd on a pedestal and the peer pressure would be unbearable from the Adande types.
Finally, whenever I see posts on social media declaring him the greatest Laker ever, I like to remind them he's not even in the top 3 Lakers of all time. The mouthebreathing cult of Kobe just loves that.
My memory may be faulty.. but the C’s were up 11 in the 4th as I recall.. then if you read the play by play it’s just a parade of FTs for LA.. and the Celts got zero calls.. Gasol and Bynum were allowed to do whatever they wanted on both ends of the court.. and if they got touched it was a foul.
Making up your own nickname is never cool.
I was in LA right after he died.. the thing I remember most was all of the busses had Kobe RIP or something like that in the digital display. I felt like I couldn’t say anything about him for fear of being outed as someone who didn’t like him let alone deify him.
For many men, "beating the rap" is a feature not a bug. I presume Black men are no different in that.
Kareem wasn't part of these people's generation. It is certainly not outlandish for people to consider Kobe the best player of his generation, which is why they revere him.
Kareem, Magic... West? Baylor? Shaq '96-04? Wilt '68-73?
If you think Shaq was the most important player in their 00-02 run, there's a solid argument for no higher than 6th best Laker.
Ben Taylor did put him at #14 all time, above Baylor (#37) and West (#17) though, and although Shaq was at #5, he also was only in LA for ~1/2 his prime.
FWIW, DARKO has Kobe's peak at around a 5, which would have him sixth this year in value impact. For most of the middle of his career (games 500-1000), he was around a 4, which would be like 13th this year, ironically currently occupied by 39yo Lebron James.
Of course as noted above, if Kobe were born 10 years later, he would likely have developed a more efficient game and hit more threes. But prime Kobe dropped into 2024 is not a top 10 player. Absolute peak Kobe dropped into 2024 isn't even a top 5 player.
His lack of efficiency doesn't matter to folks as much as the assassin ethos, but it should.
Of course as noted above, if Kobe were born 10 years later, he would likely have developed a more efficient game and hit more threes. But prime Kobe dropped into 2024 is not a top 10 player. Absolute peak Kobe dropped into 2024 isn't even a top 5 player.
His lack of efficiency doesn't matter to folks as much as the assassin ethos, but it should.
If anything Kobe was a more skilled shooter and scorer, but his selfish decision making drove down his %.
Jordan famously accepted the triangle offence and two of his rings were him passing to role players for the big shot. Kobe never did anything like that. While Jordan flew to Vegas to get Rodman back and Kobe refused to play with Shaq. Part of the reason Jordan was such a dick to Jerry Krause was to placate Pippen who signed a stupid contract extension. If Jordan was a better person he would have privately told Jerry he liked the cap room Scotties low pay gave them, but he had to back his teammate. Jordan, to this day, loves being the guy in a group of guys, while Kobe was a loner. Jordan was the middle of the hype circle while Kobe for most of his career waiting in the tunnel separate from his teammates.
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I don't think Kobe was a more skilled shooter and scorer. You could say he was a better three point shooter, but that is more era dependent than anything. Jordan took three more shots a game than Kobe during his career. He took a billion shots--the difference was Jordan was able to constantly make 50%+ of his contested mid range jump shots at a rate basically nobody has ever done before or since. His usage rate for his career is higher than Kobe's--Jordan led the league in usage rate nine times, compared to Kobe who only did it three times. Michael totally dominated the ball and his teams offensive, monopolizing it for his own greatness. The difference is he was better than Kobe so it worked.
It's amazing when you have a ton of money and a team of professionals spending to "rehabilitate" your image.
OJ Simpson with that group of "fixers" might have changed his course. Eh, maybe not.
His oldest daughter Gianna is working it for her own fame. The whole thing just makes my skin crawl.
OJ Simpson with that group of "fixers" might have changed his course. Eh, maybe not.
His oldest daughter Gianna is working it for her own fame. The whole thing just makes my skin crawl.
Should it tho?
Obviously not the greatest player of all time, nor in the discussion to anyone evaluating objectrively. Off the cour stuff abhorent w/o discussion. But there's a reason he's the favorite player of so many guys in the league, and of fans across the world. People revere the legend of Kobe more then the actual bball player or person he was.
It's not outlandish, but it is stupid.
Tim Duncan was so decisively the best player of his generation it's not even funny.
Someone referenced it above, but what a rough time for hoop that period was. I kinda forgot. Marcus Camby was probably the fifth best player taken in the Kobe draft. The 1997 draft was even worse.
Dear lord I could not fucking love this more. I almost suspect he built this model specifically for this outcome
I remember the Kobe comeback starting with a shoe commercial - some black and white hagiography showing how hardcore he trained with chain squats and stuff.
It was controversial at the time and the rehab work he was doing in the commercial was clearly meant to also rehab his image, but it worked.
As for the black community and Kobe, a lot of what I’ve seen is in the context of the fact it was a black man accused of raping a white woman and the horrible history that attends that. Still, I think he was clearly guilty and the way they shamed that poor girl was a second violation. But we’ve certainly seen how eager people are to overlook shittiness in their heroes.
Also, did you guys know that helicopter backwards is retpocileh and helicopter upside down is how Kobe died?
It was controversial at the time and the rehab work he was doing in the commercial was clearly meant to also rehab his image, but it worked.
As for the black community and Kobe, a lot of what I’ve seen is in the context of the fact it was a black man accused of raping a white woman and the horrible history that attends that. Still, I think he was clearly guilty and the way they shamed that poor girl was a second violation. But we’ve certainly seen how eager people are to overlook shittiness in their heroes.
Also, did you guys know that helicopter backwards is retpocileh and helicopter upside down is how Kobe died?
If you ever go back and watch games from that era, it's amazing just how limited the offensive skill sets of players were. 7 out of the 10 guys on the court might be no offensive threat outside of ten feet from the basket. A bunch of guys couldn't dribble or pass--the league was just full of big, muscled dudes who could push people around and grab rebounds, but do nothing else. The Suns ended up putting three guys on the floor at once who could shoot threes and they were suddenly breaking basketball. It's no wonder the Euros started to crack into the NBA at this time--at least you knew those guys could pass and shoot.
In that regard, dynamic offensive players like Kobe were more rare and thus they were given carte blanche to shoot a lot more frequently than stars today would. The game was very off-balanced during that time period between stars and role players.
The crash happened on the way to the game. What was under reported at the time was that he had made the same flight the day before for the Saturday games and then flew home after, knowing he needed to be back the next day. With kids on board. A night in a hotel resting for the next day is what someone who was not an entitled rich asshole would have done. Everyone thought he was cool because he choppered from home to Laker games. And yes in many Laker fan's eyes the rape didn't matter because she settled.
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The NBA was in such a different place in the late 90s. Jordan was still around collecting titles but the end was in sight and there was a massive dearth of young talent for the league to hang their hat on. The biggest star after Jordan was probably Shaq but his Magic had just gotten handled by the Rockets and Jordan’s Bulls.
The NBA was also struggling with the cultural change in the league. Let’s be honest, there was a racist pushback to the emergence of hip hop culture and individual expression generally. Nothing more emblematic of that than the change from <5” short inseams of the 80s to the >10” ones of the 90s, and how pissed people were about that. There were so many changes in individual player expression and how they carried themselves publicly, which was more in line with the celebrities that they were and are than in the archetypical mold of “athletes”. This would happen everywhere but it started in the NBA.
On top of all this, you had a bunch of crises real and imagined starting to hit the NBA. There were players coming into the league that were beginning to be implicated in college recruiting scandals. Declaring out of high school was becoming a thing again and fans and sportswriters were pissed about that. People we pissed about the contracts and player movement and all that other shit too.
So it seems to me that the league had a few problems, with no clear successor to Jordan and cultural changes that were rankling a more conservative fan base. The top pick in that draft was Iverson who seemed to embody everything the league didn’t want as their new face. Down the line you had a kid who seemed to be everything they did want. Yeah, he skipped college, but Kobe was a rich kid with a prep schooler presentation, and he took Brandi to his prom!!! And he was a legit player on a (post trade) historic franchise. Pretty much the perfect storm for the hype train.
No idea if Kobe turns out differently if he toils for the Hornets or someone else for a few seasons before going elsewhere. Or if he comes into the league at a different time. He obviously compares unfavorably to Lebron in just about every way. But I wonder sometimes…
The NBA was also struggling with the cultural change in the league. Let’s be honest, there was a racist pushback to the emergence of hip hop culture and individual expression generally. Nothing more emblematic of that than the change from <5” short inseams of the 80s to the >10” ones of the 90s, and how pissed people were about that. There were so many changes in individual player expression and how they carried themselves publicly, which was more in line with the celebrities that they were and are than in the archetypical mold of “athletes”. This would happen everywhere but it started in the NBA.
On top of all this, you had a bunch of crises real and imagined starting to hit the NBA. There were players coming into the league that were beginning to be implicated in college recruiting scandals. Declaring out of high school was becoming a thing again and fans and sportswriters were pissed about that. People we pissed about the contracts and player movement and all that other shit too.
So it seems to me that the league had a few problems, with no clear successor to Jordan and cultural changes that were rankling a more conservative fan base. The top pick in that draft was Iverson who seemed to embody everything the league didn’t want as their new face. Down the line you had a kid who seemed to be everything they did want. Yeah, he skipped college, but Kobe was a rich kid with a prep schooler presentation, and he took Brandi to his prom!!! And he was a legit player on a (post trade) historic franchise. Pretty much the perfect storm for the hype train.
No idea if Kobe turns out differently if he toils for the Hornets or someone else for a few seasons before going elsewhere. Or if he comes into the league at a different time. He obviously compares unfavorably to Lebron in just about every way. But I wonder sometimes…
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It wasn't just that the skill sets were limited - the NBA hadn't done the math yet and still thought the best shots were close in. The rules - particularly the hand checking rule and allowing guys to make contact with cutters - made strength/power a key factor in success. I mean the NBA players were so strong, once they got their hand on a player, they could direct where the player went - imagine how good of a defender Jrue Holiday would be if he could hand check? And cutting wasn't just going across the lane; guys had to be able to get to their spot despite taking a hit - almost like a TE running a route.
But the freedom of movement rules - combined with basic math - completely changed the game. As you mention, the game today is much better than the game in the early 2000s, and the return of post play to the Celtics is a welcome addition to my eyes.
ie kobe
i wonder what happents in 96 if the nets take him or the horents keep him
he is on the cover of this year 2k which take a spot form jokic ginnis or tatum
he shouild been sup for all of 2003-04 season
and why wouild he do that when he had a pefect ten for a wife
the nba has been rigged def since the 90's porland shouild had won the 99-00 ring and sac the 01-02 ring its like jordan bulls the blazers shouild had won in 92 and jazz in 98
and he was awful in his last season jordan was as well
i looked up the crash and all he had to do was push the games back a hour or two and no fog
had he lived the hero worship wouild be just as bad if not worse
the tragy was with kobe seflish actions he took 6 innont lives with him
he also wanted a trade in 2007 but the lakers wouild only deal him to detroit
i wonder what happents in 96 if the nets take him or the horents keep him
he is on the cover of this year 2k which take a spot form jokic ginnis or tatum
he shouild been sup for all of 2003-04 season
and why wouild he do that when he had a pefect ten for a wife
the nba has been rigged def since the 90's porland shouild had won the 99-00 ring and sac the 01-02 ring its like jordan bulls the blazers shouild had won in 92 and jazz in 98
and he was awful in his last season jordan was as well
i looked up the crash and all he had to do was push the games back a hour or two and no fog
had he lived the hero worship wouild be just as bad if not worse
the tragy was with kobe seflish actions he took 6 innont lives with him
he also wanted a trade in 2007 but the lakers wouild only deal him to detroit
I'm so glad you posted this, especially because so many people on this board constantly disparage LeBron. LeBron is the best player ever on the court and off the court he has been incredible as well. He's been in the national spotlight since he was like 14 and has never been in trouble for anything, other than a bunch of people being mad that he didn't singlehandedly bring down the Chinese Communist Party.
I worked in a college athletic department at the time when Kobe died and the amount of sadness was awful. I made multiple jokes about how great it was that Kobe finally got his due for the Colorado incident and you would have thought I had made a joke about Jesus Christ himself. It's baffling to me how much that whole story has been whitewashed.
Well, to add to all of the other stories mentioned above about Kobe being a phony, when he first came into the league he had an incredibly clean cut image.
He said multiple times he never wanted to get a tattoo and I believe he was also presented as very religious (I am pretty sure he also said he didn’t want to swear).
Bottom line is that if you paid attention to Kobe’s career and his persona, the guy was a complete phony and basically wasnt liked by any of his contemporaries. They may have respected that he worked hard but that was the extent of it
It's been awhile, but I remember some talk about him "being a point forward" and there was some game where he scored 7 points. I was a fanboy kid at the time, but even then it seemed a little bit like Bird was being a little petulant and trying to make a point.
I just did a google search on this, which included a Reddit thread that was specifically for criticisms of Larry Bird, and I couldn’t find anything saying he refused to shoot or anything like that
From Wikipedia "Basketball Hall of Fame small forward Larry Bird, a prolific scorer with exceptional passing skills,[8] quipped "I'm a point forward now" after his coaches sought him to score less and pass more.[9][10] "
I see some games in his game logs late in his career where we only took like 7-8 shot attempts. That was a long time ago, so not sure we'd find an article, but I remember some debate about whether Bird was shooting too much, and I thought he was trying to make a point by not shooting very much.
Bird clashed with Jimmy Rodgers his first season back from his Achilles injury. The “point forward” comment was made after a loss, and Bird was none too happy with the game plan. Rodgers was fired after the Celtics lost to the Knicks in the first round, replaced by Chris Ford.
Surprised this hasn't been referenced in the thread.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/14449708/how-kobe-bryant-almost-became-boston-celtic
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/14449708/how-kobe-bryant-almost-became-boston-celtic
I just saw a long segment on sportscenter dedicated to him because I guess there is a Kobe statue unveiling tonight and it all made me nauseous. I’ll never forgot in the aftermath of his death one of my former student-athletes calling me, a rape survivor, in tears and unable to comprehend the idolization.
TLDR: thanks for this thread.
TLDR: thanks for this thread.
this story is Coming Up Next on the local news this morning. “Honoring a Legend”
edit: I just dashed off an email to the local station I was watching accusing them of abandoning journalism. I expect they will lose zero sleep over this.
edit: I just dashed off an email to the local station I was watching accusing them of abandoning journalism. I expect they will lose zero sleep over this.
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