It has been a year since Kobe Bryant passed away.
Tributes poured in when his death was first reported, on August 23rd which was his birthday, and of course today. I’ve seen posts all over social media regarding Kobe which were expected. Still my only question that remains is why does his history need to get rewritten to where he’s become nearly god like?
What happened in Eagle, Colorado? It has become a blip on the radar. Like it never happened. If it does get mentioned Kobe fans will use the excuse his victim was looking for a “pay day.” Yet will never acknowledge what he said in his apology. While certainly not an admission of guilt it does lend some creedence to the accusations against him.
We also cannot ignore the strategy of Kobe’s defense team. Which was to slut shame and use her mental illness to make her seem less credible. Then there is the issue with keeping the victim’s name out of the media or for that matter fans of the Lakers star. One can only imagine what kind of messages that got sent her way after a number of details got leaked about her.
Does it speak volumes that a tabloid misidentified a young woman as the victim? She was actually a classmate of the victim. Still it didn’t stop people from posting a yearbook picture and labeling it “WHORE ALERT.” Which obviously led to disturbing comments on said posts of her.
Ultimately the case got dismissed due to Kobe’s victim refusing to testify. The prosecutor said at the time “the victim was going through hell.” Eventually the two sides settled a civil suit with the details remaining confidential.
So let’s take Kobe out of the equation here. It’s now 2021 we need to get past this notion that sex is shameful especially when it comes to women. Someone can have sex with a partner at some point and sex with another later on, yet if they are sexually assaulted on their way back home it doesn’t mean they weren’t a victim of a crime.
Consent matters! At any point during a sexual encounter you or your partner says no, you stop immediately! You communicate with each other regardless of if it’s someone you have been in a relationship with for years or are having a one-night stand with.
So when someone says no it means no.
What if it was your daughter who came home with bruises on her neck and jaw? Along with vaginal trauma? I have an idea of what that answer is.