Quote:
Originally Posted by Zarley
I was initially surprised to see the outpouring of public grief for a guy who probably raped a 19 year old minimum wage hotel employee and definitely cheated on his wife, but then I remembered the hysteria after MJ died and wasn’t so shocked - people are strange. He was a great basketball player, but probably not a such a great guy, RIP.
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No you weren't, you'd have to live under a rock to be surprised by this. You just want to be that guy to make this comment first.
And to say he probably wasn't such a great guy is deaf to what all the people who met him seem to say.
From other athletes, reporters, fans, kids he taught, charities he worked with, everyone who knew him in any way seems genuinely to say he was a great guy.
While that sentiment always comes up when people die, it does feel more heartfelt and genuine watching interviews from people in this case.
If he was guilty for rape, I'm not downplaying that. It's part of his story and something he had to redeem himself for, something he maybe deserved punishment for, something that woman and both of their families had to heal from.
But people do become better people, even from enormous mistakes. All evidence seemed to indicate Kobe did become a much better person in the decades since that incident.
Trying to take that away from his story and pretend he's an eternal bad guy who shouldn't be mourned, says more about you as a person than it does about him.