Kobe derailed himself,
Lakers one year ago

Kobe Bryant could be a rapist.

Before June 30, 2003, that suggestion would have earned you the title of valedictorian at your local laughing academy.

But after that date, we’re all just not sure.

It is that uncertainty created one year ago that has transformed the lives of a young basketball superstar, his alleged accuser and her family, friends and community, the Los Angeles Lakers’ organization and its fans, countless victims of sexual assault, the entire NBA, the sports world in general and society as a whole.

All because of one indiscretion.

Whether guilty or innocent, Bryant’s carefully constructed squeaky clean image was forever besmirched when he had sex with a 19-year-old hotel worker. He claims it was consensual, she insists it was not. Regardless, one minute he was a happily married man, the next he was the highest profile American icon to be accused of a sexual assault since boxer Mike Tyson in 1992 and comic actor Fatty Arbuckle in 1921.

The most obvious impact came to those in Bryant’s immediate orbit. Less than a day before, the Lakers had secured the services of Karl Malone and Gary Payton and were overjoyed at the prospect of having a lineup with four future Hall of Famers in it. Then the news broke. Bryant, who had gone to Colorado to get his knee worked on without bothering to inform team officials, had an encounter with a young woman at a luxury resort.

From that moment on, the Lakers began to slowly unravel. The fallout was unlike anything ever experienced by a professional sports franchise.

Bryant’s personality only made the situation worse. He is basically a loner. He grew up in a close-knit family that protected him, and he spent eight years overseas while his dad, Joe, played basketball in Italy. He was raised to be a star, and he fit the part. He was as aloof as he was talented. He was as stubborn and self-absorbed as he was charismatic.

So when the incident was revealed, his Laker teammates did not know how to react. And when Bryant began to exhibit strange behavior — undoubtedly because of the immense pressure he suddenly found himself under — it created fissures inside the lockerroom.

Bryant traveled by himself, showed up late or not at all to practices, and balked at his coach, Phil Jackson. His rift with Shaquille O’Neal also grew wider. During training camp in October, Shaq made a wisecrack that demonstrated his lack of sympathy and support for his younger teammate. With Bryant not yet in attendance, Shaq remarked, “Our whole team is here.” In other words, Bryant wasn’t a part of the team in Shaq’s estimation.

That friction boiled over soon afterward, when Bryant returned a call to ESPN’s Jim Gray and lashed out at O’Neal, ripping him for his lack of dedication. Those wounds festered all season.

In the beginning, many wondered if it might be best for Bryant to sit out the season while he handled his legal problems. After all, he had several hearings to attend in Colorado, and that certainly would disrupt the team’s continuity. However, Bryant managed to make almost all of his game commitments, thanks to luck and a canny jet pilot.

In fact, as it turned out, the basketball court became his refuge. It kept him from going insane.

But Bryant was on an island, as usual. His isolation seeped into the Lakers’ play. They had several injuries that hampered their regular season and eventually weakened them in the NBA Finals against the Detroit Pistons. But the main issue has always been lack of teamwork. Bryant received most of the blame for that, and his legal problems only served to exacerbate the situation.

Now, he is on the verge of free agency. Because he may feel as though he was not supported fully over this past year by members of the organization, and especially by O’Neal, he may depart to another club. Lakers owner Jerry Buss, in his zeal to placate Bryant, may ruin the franchise by trading away O’Neal, which won’t guarantee Bryant will remain anyway.

His accuser, meanwhile, has been through a nightmare. She may indeed have been raped. Or she may be lying. Regardless, she has been stalked and harassed by tabloid reporters and private investigators. She has gone into hiding. She can’t pursue a normal life until this is resolved. And her family is under almost as much duress.

For all rape victims, this has become a watershed moment, although which direction the current moves is open to debate. Many who were afraid before to come forward and report the crimes inflicted upon them may be emboldened by the determination of Bryant’s alleged victim. Then again, they could also be intimidated by the incredible amount of resources used against her when the crime involves a defendant with lots of money, and also by the degree to which outside forces may make a normal life impossible.

The NBA, its fans, the sports world and, for that matter, any parts of the globe where celebrity trials are followed are mesmerized. People have taken sides.

The conflict between Kobe and his accuser has spawned heated argument. It also has held up a mirror up to us all. There are fans who love Bryant and admire his basketball prowess, and therefore hate the accuser, even though they know little about the case save for the bits and pieces leaked into the press. There are those who are staunch defenders of women who have been victims of sexual assault, and many of them have branded Bryant a criminal even before a trial date was set.

Over the past year, uncertainty has bred irrationality on both sides.

It will probably remain that way until a jury decides if Bryant goes back to the basketball court or to prison.

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