Kobe Bryant’s Muse

[dropcap background=”yes” color=”#333333″]K[/dropcap]obe Bryant released a documentary of his life called Muse on Showtime. He is the narrator and no one else would be more fitting. Kobe Bryant is a huge fan of Kobe Bryant. Ego aside, it’s worthwhile to view the life as told by the NBA’s 3rd highest point scorer’s perspective.  He truly is a special human being who dedicated himself to the life of basketball and has earned his spot as arguably a top 10 player of all time.

Kobe’s early life had him transitioning from Italy, where his dad played pro ball, to life in Philadelphia.  At 18 he was acquired by the Lakers and has spent the last 18 years there. This movie was made because Kobe has 9 months of rehab to repair an Achilles (or rotator cuff) and he has nothing better to do. With that backdrop, here are the highlights:

Kobe has 4 airballs in a playoff game 

I had never seen the above clip before.  How you don’t want to go into a shell and hide letting an entire city, all of your teammates, and yourself down after wanting to take every shot and completely catching air 4!!!! times is absurd.  A true testament to his mental toughness.

 

The Black Mamba

Kobe says that he created the Black Mamba to separate basketball from his personal life.  The black mamba is the lethal side of Kobe that appears on the court and was unstoppable in his prime.  There would be competition from other players but his biggest challenge was overcoming the goals he set for himself. There not many players in the NBA who work harder than Kobe at their craft.

The clip below has got to be a high point of how awesome Kobe was in his prime.

Kobe’s Sexual Assault in 2003

Muse briefly touches on this incident but I’ll go in more detail. Kobe is seen crying and saying how his wife hated his guts and how they had a miscarriage but it never goes into why. Fortunately, the internet never forgets. This police interview after Kobe was accused of sexually assaulting a 19 year old girl in Colorado gets wild.

The setup is that a this young girl is showing Kobe around while he is rehabbing his knee and they end up banging. She stops him short, leaves, and then accuses him of rape. These are the classic, unforgettable details.  He starts off saying he knows nothing but as the detectives press on he realizes the girl has already talked and he has to cooperate. Kobe’s answers are bold.

• Pg 12 – I did have sexual intercourse with her
• Pg 17 – She had a lot of bleeding.  From where?  Her vaginal area?  Did she cut herself or something, there’s no blood on me whatesoever man…
• Pg 18- Did you ever ask her if you wanted, if you could cum in her face?  Yes.  That’s when she said no.  That’s when she said no.  That’s when she said no.
• Pg 20 – Did she give you oral sex?  Yeah it was quick.  I just told her to get up because she didn’t know what she was doing.
• Pg 33 – See this is the way I at it, I, you know, I look at it this way, she’s an attractive young lady okay.  She wasn’t that attractive.
• Pg 34 – I jerked off when she left.
• Pg 37 – (about another girl he cheats with is wife)Her name is Michelle.  And is this somebody you frequent or a one time incident or…?  No.  She’s a, she’s a frequent (inaudible).

Those are the highlights of the 57 page interview.  The way he describes it is she put her leg up on the chair and was asking for it. He pulled her panties down and banged her for a few minutes before not finishing when she said to stop. How could that not be consensual? That’s not a position for a female that you randomly find yourself in.

They ended up settling out of court when it turned out she was on medication and a borderline schizophrenic.  She brought panties as evidence that had another man’s semen and pubic hair.  This was pretty much the low point of Kobe’s career but also the most fascinating because he is portrayed as such wholesome guy that it’s refreshing to see him as cheating male.

So then I decided to search for what the victim looked like and this is what I came up with. I have no idea if this is her or not but my research found her to be Katelyn Faber or Kate Lovell. Lovell looks like this.

This is Katelyn Faber. I think the media caught wind of the girl’s first name and hit the yearbook. I’m fairly certain it’s the one above if she was on a talk show.

 

My Feelings on Kobe

I came away admiring Kobe’s longevity and devotion to the game. He seems like a nice guy even though you hear all the time how arrogant he is.  He works hard and got to the top and it’s a shame to see him succumb to injuries even though he still has the talent to play.  I don’t think he could ever not be the head honcho though which could make it difficult to play on teams when he’s 41.  I bet he’s a fun person to hang out with if your talented.  Horrible if you suck though.  I will never forget this story. By far my favorite.