Kobe
Bryant—Being a Celebrity
by Robert Yoho, Columnist and Senior Editor
"Eye on Conservatism"
In
what is sure to be another OJ-style media circus, Los Angeles Laker’s basketball
star Kobe Bryant (right) will soon be going on trial for sexual assault. And
like OJ Simpson, the outcome of this trial will also never be in doubt.
Kobe’s string of lucrative endorsements may dry up, but the continuation of the man’s basketball career is not in any serious jeopardy. There is no question that Kobe Bryant will get a fair trial. However, it has yet to be seen whether the woman can get one.
I am making no charges as to the man’s guilt or innocence or the credibility of the woman’s charges. We do know Kobe is guilty of questionable judgment and of seeking to break his marriage vows. Only two people know what actually went on in that Colorado motel room and the whole truth may not be fully contained in either of their testimonies.
Celebrity status in America doesn’t only give you the means to purchase many of life’s finest amenities. It also gives you the ability—no matter what may be your offense—to purchase a favorable verdict or simply to walk away from the consequences of your actions.
To the casual observer, Kobe Bryant seemed to have it all. The man had the looks, fame, talent, wealth, an attractive wife, the “good guy” personna, and a string of endorsements to go with them. The average American Joe, holding a beer and a remote control in front of his television set, would gladly have traded places with the man. What more could a man possibly want? In Kobe’s case, it was one thing: MORE!
And if he should indeed be found guilty of the charges, then apparently Kobe—like the reality challenged, former heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson—would not be stopped by the word “no.”
Country singer Brad Paisley recently recorded a song, “Celebrity,” that humorously, but accurately, describes the situation in America for those who have attained celebrity status. It talks about how television personalities can routinely break the law and their sentences involve nothing more than fulfilling some hours of community service. And there is no doubt that Kobe Bryant’s face is infinitely more marketable than that of Iron Mike Tyson.
American juries love to reward those individuals who climb to the top of our current pop culture. Tough “guilty” verdicts will not win the jurors a chance to score the celeb’s autograph or to win a personal snapshot of them standing side-by-side. It may even cost a juror the possibility of a future book deal on the most recent “trial of the century.”
Some have suggested that Kobe’s biggest problem may be the location of his alleged crime. Their reasoning implies that Colorado juries may take a tougher bite out of crime than a jury of his peers seated in ritzy California. However, that line of thinking has one major flaw: Colorado is not all that different from Hollyweird.
In the past few years, Colorado has recently become the new “in place” for the glitzerazzi of Hollywood. Why do you think you think that Kobe went there in the first place? Look at all the plush estates and expensive mountain chateaus that have been built there by the biggest names in entertainment. Many of these celebrities, who are so passionately concerned about the “fragile” environment that is being destroyed by “evil” corporate executives, have absolutely no qualms about the wholesale rape and pillage of pristine Aspen wilderness to build them another expensive and secluded hideaway, nestled in ski country, free of the smoke and din of Los Angeles.
In this trial, it is not the Los Angeles basketball star who is the outsider. That title will be reserved for the local woman. As sure as I’m alive, I am confident that Kobe will do the thing he does while going to the hoop on a fast break. He will walk!
As Brad Paisley would say, “It’s just so tough, being a celebrity.”
But if I am wrong and a more serious fate befalls Kobe Bryant, then perhaps
the prison’s conjugal visits will rekindle the passion that was obviously
lacking from the basketball star’s seemingly blissful marriage. ***
© 2003 Robert Yoho
COPYRIGHT © 2003 BY THE AMERICAN PARTISAN. All writers retain rights to their work.
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