Say it ain't so: Kobe Bryant arrested for felony sexual assault? (1 Viewer)

[Chris]

Oh, it's nice that we start bashing each other No, the January came from two articles which retracted today, one, USA Today, section 2C, eighth paragraph yesterday, and one published online in the NY Times.

As to the note about Kobe having detectives to do dirty work, no, I am not saying that they were behind leaks.. however, I will point out that both the Sacremento Bee and Los Angeles Times pointed out that almost $250,000 would be spent in "opposition research" by his legal team - something that is expected - in order to help discredit the witness. When you have the money to go after the credibility of the accuser, almost any defendent will. But, in the current system, the accused almost never does the same in reverse.

 

[Hunter P]

What is up with the accuser's friends? It seems there is a new one popping up everyday claiming to be her best friend and giving some interview to some news program. Are they all on some PR campaign to win the "court of public opinion" before the trial starts? How many best friends does she have and how many were with Kobe and her the day this happened?

My distrust in Kobe is solely in the fact that he LIED to the general public about any hanky panky. He lost credibility not because he had an affair but because he winked to the camera and told us that we all knew him and knew that he wouldn't do such a thing.

I think it's pretty scummy that he would cheat on his new wife and THREE MONTH OLD baby but I also know that is irrelevant to this case.

 

[Hunter P]

If this girl is doing this for the money then she is taking a big risk to do so. First of all, if Kobe is convicted then the girl is not going to get awarded any money initially since it will be a criminal trial. IF he gets convicted then she can sue Kobe in a civil trial and finally get monetary restitution. (Or sue him anyways like the Goldmans did to OJ.)

First, she is going to have to hope that Colorado DA's have a strong enough case to beat Kobe's (I assume) all-star team of lawyers. Then she will have to hire her own high-priced lawyer to sue Kobe. Only after months (years) of trials and legal fees will she be able to get a single dime from him.

I repeat, all of that is a big risk if all she wanted was some money from the guy. AI would seem like a better income option.

 

[Chris Lockwood]

> Only after months (years) of trials and legal fees will she be able to get a single dime from him.

Or she can sell her story to the press. There are other ways she can make money off this besides suing Kobe.

 

[Brian Perry]

Then she will have to hire her own high-priced lawyer to sue Kobe

I'd imagine there are plenty of lawyers willing to do it on a contingent basis.

 

[Hunter P]

Contingent basis yes. But in the end he/she will want their cut from the award. Just ask those two idiots who finally auctioned Barry Bond's baseball how worthwhile it is to rack up the legal fees.

 

[chris rick]

None of us here know anything about what happened regarding the act--was a crime comitted or not? We'll never know truthfully. What we do know however is that this guy is did something WAAYYY out of line in cheating on his wife. I will not levy an opinion against him alleging his guilt or innocence, I don't really know what happened. I will however say he's a disgrace as a husband.

 

[Patrick_S]

Contingent basis yes. But in the end he/she will want their cut from the award. Just ask those two idiots who finally auctioned Barry Bond's baseball how worthwhile it is to rack up the legal fees.

Are you certain that the attorneys in that case worked on a contingent bases? I thought I read that at least one of the lawyers was actually working on an hourly bases.

As for the Kobe case, a big key will be what he said to the police the first time they interviewed him. If he admitted to having sex with her case closed he'll win. If not then he'll have to spin it that he was scared to admitted to having sex because he is married and the DA will have an easier time getting a conviction.

 

[Christopher P]

Well said Chris Rick...which got me thinking, do any of the wives of athletes (or rock stars, of other similar celebrities for that matter) believe that their husbands are going to be faithful? I'm sure some are, a good, honest husband isn't very newsworthy. But all the time we hear about incidents of infidelity, or children out of wedlock (funny word...wedLOCK...anyway) in the popular culture world, where these men are on the road all the time, in big cities with their crew. They have to know about the groupies. Are they in it for the security? For true love? Just rambling.

Chris

 

[Carlo_M]

I would think that anyone who marries a pro-athlete has to have their eyes wide open. Especially high-profile ones like NFL & NBA athletes (I don't know how many curling groupies there are, a few I suppose).

Doesn't mean I accept or approve of it, but I think that's just the reality. And sure, they don't all cheat. There are good, faithful men in every sport. But the temptation for those athletes...and hell, basically any high-profile celebrity (actor, etc.) is very high.

 

[Brian Perry]

As for the Kobe case, a big key will be what he said to the police the first time they interviewed him. If he admitted to having sex with her case closed he'll win.

Unless the physical evidence suggests the use of force. There are reports--unverified--that the woman has bruises and scratches on her neck and face that have yet to go away, as well as other trauma to her genitalia. In addition, Kobe may have scratches and bruises indicating a struggle. These things, if they exist, could pose enormous obstacles for Kobe. It would be interesting to know whether Kobe, in his initial police questioning, mentioned anything about rough sex. If he did, it doesn't necessarily exonerate him (any rapist could claim that), but if he didn't and the signs of a struggle are indisputable, how will he explain it?

I believe that this DA is the same person who decided there was not enough evidence to pursue charges against a skier who caused the death of another skier a few months ago. Obviously a different type of case, but it hints that he doesn't go forward without enough ammo.

 

[RobertR]

NBC News is reporting that five people at a party attended by the alleged victim said she was "bragging" about the incident and appeared to be in a good mood three days before charges were filed. Interesting....

 

[Steve_Tk]

Sorry if this was mentioned. But new news today was that this is not the first time this girl has filed this against people. Apparently it's with a different area which is keeping it quiet.

If that is true, tied with her overdose, her credibility just got flushed down the pooper.

 

[Carlo_M]

There has to be corresponding trauma evidence on Kobe. Otherwise how do we know Kobe inflicted the wounds on the woman? For example, if she alleges that she was hit and/or scratched by Kobe's hand, and there is no evidence on Kobe's hands/knuckles of hitting (I'm sure the CSI guys could figure this out) then that doesn't prove a thing. Like that guy who tried to frame the police for brutality and was hitting himself, unaware that it was being videotaped.

Again, not saying Kobe's innocent, that's for the legal system to do. Just that bodily trauma on the woman isn't enough, there has to be some corroborating evidence on Kobe otherwise they can't prove that he did it.

If there is...whoa nelly!

 

[Glenn Overholt]

Drat Carlo! I was just going to say that. What if she went home, bragged about it to somebody and they came up with this wicked idea?

Glenn

 

[Brian Perry]

Like that guy who tried to frame the police for brutality and was hitting himself, unaware that it was being videotaped.

I'd love to see his expression when they showed him the tape!

Back to Kobe--there are now so many different "news" items floating around it's tough to keep track of which side you're on. The minute I think Kobe's innocent, another story crosses the wire and I change my mind. And then it goes the other way.

 

[Carlo_M]

They didn't show the perp's reaction to the tape. But the funny part was watching him beat himself up, and looking at the bemused faces of the two police officers because they knew the tape was rolling. They made no effort to stop him from beating himself up!

 

[Robert Crawford]

Then maybe, it would be wise to wait until the trial to see how the evidence is presented before coming to any conclusion about guilt or innocence. Is there really that great of a need to rush to judgement about these two people? Which is a question I think all of us need to answer to ourselves.

 

[Brian Perry]

What fun would that be?

 

[Robert Crawford]

Watching situations such as the Kobe Bryant case play out is not entertainment to me.





Crawdaddy