Courtesy-The New York Times
Even as he moved on from his NBA career and onto his next chapter as a Hollywood and tech billionaire, Kobe Bryant was never able to completely put the worst part of his history behind.
Bryant was one of nine persons killed in a helicopter accident outside Los Angeles on Sunday, including his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna. Bryant was accused with sexually abusing a 19-year-old woman in 2003. However, there was no clear resolution, as there is in the great majority of instances involving allegations of sexual abuse. There was no decision.
Prosecutors abandoned the case just before the trial date, citing the accuser’s refusal to testify. The woman’s complaint against Bryant resulted in a settlement, the terms of which were never made public.
Bryant began a career that had never really stopped in the age before #MeToo — the cultural reckoning with the rampant sexual harassment and abuse women face at work and in their personal lives. During the 2003-04 season, while the matter was still being fought, he travelled back and forth between court appearances in Colorado and games, often arriving just minutes before tip-off.
The Lakers reached the NBA finals that season but fell short of winning their fourth title in five years. Bryant, on the other hand, would go on to win two more NBA championships as well as two Olympic gold medals before retiring in 2016, and he continued his transformation into a worldwide star, a worldwide ambassador for both his sport and Nike, his primary sponsor.
Despite this, Bryant was removed from a film festival jury in 2018, just seven months after winning an Academy Award for best animated short film. Bryant, like he has in the past, declined to comment on the sexual assault allegations. He stated that he was “disappointed” with the festival’s decision, but that he was now focused on transforming the world “through varied stories, characters, and leadership.”