Off Wing Opinion

Two Kobe Bryant-related stories surfaced over the weekend. First, officials in California confirmed that the day before Bryany surrendered to police in Colorado on a sexual assault charge, Bryant made a 911 call and an ambulance was dispatched to his home. On arrival, paramedics treated an unidentified female for an undisclosed illness. In addition, Bryant made a similar call on March 5, where a female was taken to the hospital from his Newport Beach home, treated, and then released.

On Saturday night, Bryant and his wife Vanessa atteneded The Teen Choice Awards, where Bryant was named Favorite Male Athlete.

I'd also like to call you attention to a few new links I've added to the left. First, I've created a link to all of my posts on the Bryant Case. I've also added links to a number of other excellent sources: Kobe Watch, Talk Left, and the Southern California Law Blog.

As always, check back in this space for the latest developments during the day. Nota bene: Bryant is due back in an Eagle County Courthouse on Wednesday for his arraignment.

UPDATE: Some other items of note related to the case:

The LA Times has a profile of Hal Haddon and Pamela Mackey, the lead lawyers on Bryant's defense team.

Nutella, the chocolate spread, has announced that it will not renew its sponsorship agreement with Bryant in 2004, but added that the change had already been planned before the announcement of his prosecution. Something tells me the incident probably sped up the phase out, though.

And in the most interesting piece I found today, the Rocky Mountain News asked a reporter to gauge whether or not the local African-American community in Eagle County thought Bryant could get a fair trial. Opinion was split, but it was this quote from one resident that made me chuckle:

Jessenia Jones, who has a black father and Mexican mother, dropped into Vail four years ago to visit but stuck around after she injured her ankle and had to pay an $8,000 hospital bill.

And you thought your bill collector was tough.

UPDATE: The AP's Beth Harris just pushed a People-like profile of Bryant and his wife, Vanessa, over the wires.

Looks like Robert Musil's instincts about the Bryant case were dead on. The following story has just broken nationwide:

ABC News has learned that an Eagle County sheriff's deputy involved in the investigation was named in a previous racial profiling settlement.

In 1995, the Eagle County Sheriff's Office agreed to pay $800,000 after being sued for racial profiling. More than 400 ethnic minorities said they were wrongfully pulled over when driving on the local interstate. One officer named in the lawsuit is a now a key investigator in the case against the NBA superstar.

Just think of this as the first salvo. Stay tuned to this space.

UPDATE: Here's the link to the LA Times story that's running on Newsday's site. In other trial-related news, a judge has delayed his decision on whether or not to unseal documents in the case until next Wednesday.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Robert Musil weighs in on the latest.

YET ANOTHER UPDATE: Here's the link to the official Web site, the state of Colorado has set up to handle media inquiries.

ABC News has broken the big news of the day on Kobe Bryant, getting someone in law enforcement or the prosecution team to outline the sexual assault case against the Lakers guard:

Sources told ABCNEWS that Bryant, 24, and the alleged victim met when he checked into the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera in Edwards, Colo., on June 30, and she gave him a tour of the facility. Bryant called the front desk from his room and asked for the woman and she went up to his room.

Sources said the alleged victim was in Bryant's room for less than half an hour. There was some consensual contact between Bryant and his accuser, but the woman says she did not consent to intercourse. She sustained some physical injuries, sources said, which Eagle County prosecutors are expected to argue are indicative of sexual assault. . .

In addition, sources said, prosecutors are expected to argue that Bryant deceived law enforcement officials and that he gave inconsistent statements. Bryant's defense has said that he has been forthcoming and cooperative with law enforcement officials and stressed that he flew back to Colorado to surrender to authorities there in his July 4 arrest.

In an unsigned editorial, the Rocky Mountain News is calling Eagle County Judge Frederick Gannett's "decorum order" dictating the rules of media conduct during the case as "unconstitutional." A piece by USA Today's Tom Kenworthy buttresses the same claim.

For those so inclined, here's a link to a PDF copy of the actual felony complaint against Bryant.

UPDATE Dahlia Lithwich, Slate's Supreme Court correspondent, has written an interesting history of rape law, and how all the changes haven't made it any easier to determine guilt or innocence:

We have reformed, rewritten, and rejiggered rape law, but it is still fundamentally not "fair" in the sense of providing any real legal certainty. In the end

In Eagle County, Colorado, District Attorney Mark Hurlbert is getting reinforcements in advance of the trial of Kobe Bryant. In additon to $150,000 of supplemental funds provided by the county, Boulder County is loaning a veteran prosecutor who specializes in sexual assault and domestic abuse cases. (The Denver Post has a profile.) On another note, Bryant's legal team is asking a judge to reconsider a decision to allow cameras in the courtroom during a potential trial.

Katie Lovell, an 18-year old Colorado resident who was wrongly identified as the alleged victim in the Bryant case, went on ABC's Good Morning America today to tell her story.

The NBA released its 2003-04 schedule, and Bryant and the LA Lakers are scheduled to play the Dallas Mavericks in the season opener on October 28th. No word yet on whether or not Bryant will be in the lineup that night.

An Eagle County, Colorado judge has just set forth a number of rules that will govern the behavior of the media set to cover Kobe Bryant's upcoming sexual assault trial:

The "decorum order," signed Monday by Judge Fred Gannett and filed Tuesday said the "privacy of the alleged victim is of significant importance to this court, and any media or other person who broadcasts, publishes, or otherwise disseminates the image or name of such person may be subject to exclusion from certain proceedings and other legal sanctions."

In recent days, a Los Angeles radio talk show host has broadcast the name of the woman. In addition, two Web sites have carried information about her.

The order also establishes restrictions on what activities can take place in public areas surrounding the Eagle County justice center.

For example, "all cameras, cell phones, video phones, tape recorders, or other transmitting devices shall be barred from the courthouse."

In addition, "media members of the public may photograph persons, except the alleged victim and her family, witnesses and jurors. The media shall not contact or attempt to interview any parties."

The CNN story also reports that a number of companies with business relationships with Bryant are planning to stick with him for the time being, and that the State of Colorado is planning to go live with a Web site to serve as an information clearinghouse for the trial.

Over at the Denver Post, Jenny Deam takes a look at the special pressures of being the wife of a professional athlete, and uses interviews with the wife of Denver Broncos wide receiver Ed McCaffery and the ex-wife of former Pittsburgh Steelers backup quarterback Terry Hanratty as the centerpieces. Money quote: when Lisa McCaffery reveals that she hopes that Bryant's wife, Vanessa, eventually leaves him.

Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention a post from Robert Musil that talks about the elephant in the room in the Bryant case:

RACE! RACE! RACE! The media won't say it, but I will say it:

THE KOBE BRYANT RAPE MATTER IS A CASE ABOUT A WHITE WOMAN WHOSE ACCUSATIONS OF RAPE THREATEN TO DESTROY ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN IN THE WORLD.

That doesn't mean the residents of that Eagle County, Colorado, are racist or bad. It doesn't mean the accuser is wrong or right. But it does raise the questions of whether Mr. Bryant has been already wronged on account of his race, and whether the jury may be biased on account of his race, and whether he will "play the race card" to seek an unjust acquital at some point if his trial proceeds poorly. In short, it is not possible to understand this matter without discussing its racial aspects.

For God's sakes, race matters - and should be reported where it matters.

Certainly race does matter, and if Musil's instincts are correct, it threatens to consume the trial once it gets underway.

On Friday, an Eagle County, Colorado judge ruled that the sexual assault trial of Kobe Bryant will be televised. The courtroom will have one pool television camera as well as a photographer.

State investigators in Colorado are now looking into anonymous threats that have been leveled against Eagle County District Attorney Mark Hurlbert. Later reports say the FBI has been called in to investigate as well.

Over at the Washington Post, media critic Howard Kurtz is holding his nose at the whole exercise in media overeaction:

When it comes to the Kobe Bryant story, it sometimes looks as though all of the media have crawled out of a dark, foul-smelling cave. Whatever the outcome for Bryant and his accuser, it's a slam dunk that the reputation of journalism will suffer.

For more of the same, check out this piece by Selena Roberts at the New York Times. At Poynter Online, Geneva Overholser says it's long past time that the press name the accusers in rape prosecutions:

The responsible course for responsible media today is this: Treat the woman who charges rape as we would any other adult victim of crime. Name her, and deal with her respectfully. And leave the trial to the courtroom.

To repeat, here at Off Wing Opinion, I will never identify the accuser in a rape case, nor link to any source that will. That's the way it is for this case, and any other. In other developments, I've added three new links to my Quick Links section that will take you directly to the three papers that are dedicating the most resources to the Bryant case: the LA Times, the
Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News.

The mud slinging continued in Colorado as more information surfaced that could affect the trajectory of the Kobe Bryant rape trial -- at least in the media. According to the AP in a story that moved on the wires last night:

The scrutiny of Kobe Bryant's accuser intensified Thursday when authorities confirmed she was hospitalized as a "danger to herself" four months before the alleged sexual assault.

University of Northern Colorado police chief Terry Urista said campus police received a call about 9 p.m. on Feb. 25 regarding the woman in a dormitory room.

"An officer determined she was a danger to herself," he said. "It's classified as a mental health issue."

The source of the latest revelation was the campus police at the University of Northern Colorado, where the alleged victim currently attends college. More details to follow throughout the day.

UPDATE: Vince Carter will replace Bryant on the U.S. Olympic Qualifying Team that will play at the Tournament of the Americas later this Summer. It had already been announced previously that Bryant wouldn't be able to play due to offseason surgery.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Here's the story on the gag order the judge has issued in the Bryant case. In addition, Eagle County District Attorney Mark Hurlbert responded to a request by the LA Times and other media outlets to unseal the documents related to the case.

People Magazine is reporting that just a few days before publicly admitting to committing adultery with a woman who accused him of rape, Kobe Bryant purchased his wife a $4 million diamond ring. Please note that the purchase came after the alleged assault, but before the public announcement of criminal charges.

Nota bene: this is the sort of story that helps the Bryant trial break far and wide outside the sports world.

Also in LA, syndicated radio talk show host Tom Leykis defended his decision to name the alleged victim in the Bryant case on the air. To reiterate, Off Wing Opinion will neither identify the victim, nor link to any information source that does.

Though I missed it the first time around, I have to admit some surprise in reading the following passage in the New York Times from Selena Roberts:

If Bryant had been savvier, he would have discovered what several N.B.A. veterans have said privately over the years: a professional stripper has no strings attached; a relative stranger is the greater danger. In other words, pay up front, not later.

Talk Left has consolidated its coverage here. Find the links to Dan Lewis' coverage here.

Over at Sportsfilter, the crowd is pelting the low life who established the Free Kobe Web site with plenty of invective. Why don't you join in? And at Sports Frog, Baltimaher posits that the Bryant saga came along at just the right time for ESPN's struggling, Outside The Lines Nightly.

UPDATE: The Denver Post looks at the chances the defense in the case might have for a venue change. Meanwhile, the family of a woman wrongly identified in photos posted on the Internet as the woman Bryant allegedly assaulted, has hired an attorney to stop the spread of the pictures.

Good luck.

NBC is reporting that the alleged victim in the Kobe Bryant case was laughing and joking about the incident at a party a few days before Bryant was charged.

Drop by Talk Left for some conversation.

UPDATE: Here's another account about the extent of the injuries to the alleged victim from the New York Daily News.

ANOTHER UPDATE: The Rocky Mountain News is reporting that the alleged victim told another friend that she was surprised at the amount of publicity the case is getting.

The stories aren't coming as quickly, but there are still a few interesting items on the Kobe Bryant front today. First and foremost, there's the Denver Post piece that quotes the mother of the alleged victim asking her daughter's friends to stop talking with the press.

In another passage, another friend says that Bryant's accuser still has obvious injuries from the alleged attack that are still visible three weeks later. And in the courtroom, the defense has joined with the prosecution in requesting that all documents regarding the case be sealed.

From the desk of ESPN's David Aldridge comes this assertion:

In this line of work, you are a voyeur, an observer of the actions of others. Theodore Roosevelt spoke admiringly of "the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred with dust and sweat and blood." We are not those men. We write down what those men (and women) say and do, but we are not of them. We are always separated from them, and that separation is tangible.

Frankly, we fall back on that at times like these, because everyone asks, "Do you think he did it?" And frankly, we have no idea.

Back in LA, Lakers head coach Phil Jackson said he was "saddened" by the current situation, but that he supports Bryant. And Bryant got some unsolicited support from prep superstar LeBron James.

On the East Coast, the New York Times gave Eagle County District Attorney Mark Hurlbert, the man who will prosecute the case, a rather longish profile normally reserved for heads of state.

EDITORIAL POLICY: Here at Off Wing, we won't be publishing, or linking to any source that publicly reveals the identity of the alleged victim in this case. If that's what you're looking for, it's time to search elsewhere.

UPDATE: Josh Crocket is getting bombarded by Kobe "Trolls".

Later today, an Eagle County, Colorado prosecutor will decide whether or not to file criminal charges against Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant in connection with an alleged sexual assault. I've been relatively silent about this story, simply because I tired of it so quickly. After the first 24 hours, significant new details were essentially impossible to find, and we quickly moved into CourtTV mode when it came to the coverage.

As soon as something crosses the wires, I'll be sure to post it.

UPDATE: For those of you so inclined, here's a detailed timeline of the events surrounding Bryant's arrest.

Multiple reports are saying LA Lakers guard Kobe Bryant has been arrested on a sexual misconduct charge in Colorado:

In a statement Sunday, authorities said the warrant was issued after deputies investigated a report made Wednesday claiming sexual misconduct by Bryant. The report said the incident happened in a hotel in the Edwards area of Eagle County that night. After a series of interviews and a review of the physical evidence, investigators met with representatives for District Attorney Mark Hurlbert and concluded they had enough evidence for the felony sexual assault count, the statement said.

Edwards is just down the road from the resort area of Vail, if you were wondering what in the world Bryant might have been doing in the middle of Colorado in July. All reports say that Bryant cooperated fully with police. The Lakers have issued a statement expressing shock at the charges, something I'm sure most people share.

UPDATE: ESPN is reporting that Bryant was in Edwards to get a second opinion on a shoulder injury. The physician Bryant was consulting is based in Vail.