In late July of 2003, another entertainer was charged with assault, sexual assault at that. The alleged assault took place on June 30, at the Lodge and Spa in Cordillera, Colorado. Multitudes upon multitudes of opinions have been flooding the airwaves, radio waves, and newspaper racks of Mr. Bryant's position, every since. The humble, God-fearing, "good-boy" of the league, has added tattoos and the tag of rapist to his once vacuous frame, alleged rapist, to be politically correct. Unfortunately, this type of charge, or any felony charge, is more common than not in today's society amongst sport stars, actors, and musicians. It allows for the application of the thought; is it because all of the big time, popular, and world famous people are getting slapped on the wrist for the crimes that average people would normally get anywhere from five to twenty-five years in a federal penitentiary? Is clean cut Kobe Bryant becoming another statistic?"Athletes have a special obligation to ...view middle of the document...
It is now 2003 and Kobe has developed through the eyes of the world as the official icon/role model of the new millennium and the NBA has constantly tried to initiate Kobe's game play and off-court ethics as the equivalent to that of Michael Jordan. So it's obvious that the pressure on a young man is there."The sociologists, the ones who pay attention to trends and numbers and human behavior, say that a black man simply is more apt to be involved in a crime in this country and that what might appear to be built-in aggressiveness of some sports does not necessarily lead to violence." (Morrissey 1999) Necessarily being the keyword. It truly makes sense that sports can make a person form so much aggression to deal with at the end of the day.So now pressure and aggressive behavior are the two demons sitting on Kobe Bryant's front porch snarling their teeth. The allegations were made that Kobe Bryant held the neck of his victim as he pursued sexual intercourse with her as he stretched her over a chair, which is an act out of aggressive behavior. "Concealed were Bryant's new tattoos, one on his biceps of a crown and butterfly wings over his wife's name and another on his right wrist of his toddler daughter, Natalia." (Teaford 2003) A lot of sociologists also believe that tattoos that bare names of mates are signs of immaturity. The person who wears the tattoo may either do so out of guilt or may feel, without the awareness of a possible separation point, that this is the best way to show a strong emotion towards someone.Kobe Bryant is a young black man on one hand and a huge icon on the other. He has a serious dilemma on his hands and the odds are stacked against him. It could be the pressure getting to him at his young age, where he feels like forced rape is a means to a deprived sexual drive end. It could also be that he may think his achieved status is society, has reached him to an invincible level. Whatever the case, due process is necessary to properly sift out the rule breakers in society and set examples to the future ones.BibliographyLynn Zinser Philadelphia Daily News Oct. 13, 1998Rick Morrissey Chicago Tribune August 2, 1999Elliott Teaford, Steve Henson and Alan Abrahamson Los Angeles Times Oct.10, 2003
