In late July of 2003, another entertainer was charged with assault, sexual assault at that. The alleged assault took place on June 30, at the Lodge and Spa in Cordillera, Colorado. Multitudes upon multitudes of opinions have been flooding the airwaves, radio waves, and newspaper racks of Mr. Bryant's position, every since. The humble, God-fearing, "good-boy" of the league, has added tattoos and the tag of rapist to his once vacuous frame, alleged rapist, to be politically correct. Unfortunately, this type of charge, or any felony charge, is more common than not in today's society amongst sport stars, actors, and musicians. It allows for the application of the thought; is it because all of the big time, popular, and world famous people are getting slapped on the wrist for the crimes that average people would normally get anywhere from five to twenty-five years in a federal penitentiary? Is clean cut Kobe Bryant becoming another statistic?
"Athletes have a special obligation to be people of character," said a Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan Page, a member of the NFL hall of fame.
English: Kobe Bryant, Lakers shooting guard, stand...
English: Kobe Bryant 61 point game against the New...
English: Kobe Bryant subs out vs the Washington Wi..."Like it or not, athletes are heroes to some and role models to many children. The question is: How do we get them to play by society's rules? What is the cost to those who violate them? Right now it's not a very high cost, so it continues." (Zinser 1998) It's evident that we, as consumers and spectators, quite possibly place a large deal of pressure upon our real life heroes. For any age, pressure from millions of people is not an easy thing to cope with. Try being a young. In the 1996-1997 regular season Kobe made the jump from high-school to pro ball, bringing all the immaturities that any young person would have with him. It...