Mackey also released a statement on Bryant's behalf shortly after the announcement.
"I am innocent of the charges filed today. I did not assault the woman who is accusing me," Bryant said in the statement. "I made the mistake of adultery. I have to answer to my wife and my God for my actions that night and I pray that both will forgive me. ... Nothing that happened June 30th was against the will of the woman who now falsely accuses me."
Statement from Kobe Bryant:
"I am innocent of the charges filed today. I did not assault the woman who is accusing me.
"I made the mistake of adultery. I have to answer to my wife and my God for my actions that night and I pray that both will forgive me.
"Nothing that happened June 30th was against the will of the woman who now falsely accuses me.
"These false allegations have hurt my family. I will fight against these allegations with all my strength. My wife is the strongest person I know. She is willing to stand by me despite my mistake. That means everything to me.
"I have so much to live for. And by that I do not mean the contracts, or the money, or the fame. I mean my family. I will fight for them.
"I appreciate all those who have supported me. Thank you for believing in me. My family and I are going to need your support and prayers now more than ever."
Statement from Vanessa Bryant:
"I know that my husband has made a mistake -- the mistake of adultery. He and I will have to deal with that within our marriage, and we will do so. He is not a criminal.
"I know that he did not commit a crime, he did not assault anyone. He is a loving and kind husband and father. I believe in his innocence.
"Because I know him to be innocent, I will stand by him and we will face this together. I will give him all the strength and support he needs to face these false accusations. I will not let him face these accusations alone.
"I know Kobe better than anyone. The great person you see on the court and in the public is a far greater person off the court."
Last edited by noel on July 18, 2003, 6:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Oh, my God; I care so little, I almost passed out.
I certainly hope that the girl is just trying to suck money out of him *cough*. Too many times celebrities make the dumbass mistake of entrusting random women with cock.
Infidelity is nothing new, of course, but those are some pretty serious charges. I for one, would videotape everything, if I was in the spotlight... just like Rob Lowe did.
Are the charges false? I hope so... I always thought Kobe was a class act. Then again, I don't know him personally.... It is easy to say that Mike Tyson is a rapist, but not Kobe. *shrug*
I think some of the fans interviewed on CNN said it right. They were saying how if they had the chance they would throw themSELVES at him for the sex. They were commenting on how there was no reason that someone that is supposedly that "good" could not find someone that wanted him. I think one commentator even made the point that if he really wanted sex, he sure could have afforded someone more discreet. Hell, you never know, this one might HAVE accepted money for what happened. The discovery phase isn't even out yet, so we don't know.
Kobe should have come out in the first place and said, "Yes, we had consentual sex. There was no rape." Instead, he denied that he had sex with the woman and now no one will believe anything he says.
High Chancellor for Single Malt Scotches, Accounting Stuffs and Biffin Greeting.
/tell Biffin 'sup bro!
The fact that he fooled around in his wife is what boggles me. She is freaking HAWT! As far as finding someone who wanted him, well maybe it just isn't as exciting or fulfilling. Personally, I think he deserves whatever he gets now that I know that he was cheating on his wife. I have no pity for those who have it all and are willing to throw it all away for a piece of ass or drugs.
Vaemas wrote:Kobe should have come out in the first place and said, "Yes, we had consentual sex. There was no rape." Instead, he denied that he had sex with the woman and now no one will believe anything he says.
He never denied he had sex with anyone. He denied that the charges against him were sound, and stated that he expected to be exonerated.
I have yet to see anything conclusive that indicates it was not consentual other than this woman's allegations.
Oh, my God; I care so little, I almost passed out.
Aranuil wrote:He never denied he had sex with anyone. He denied that the charges against him were sound, and stated that he expected to be exonerated.
Kobe Bryant wrote:you know I would never do anything like that.
Let me rephrase. I tend to believe that it was consentual. Kobe's statement was ambiguous, open to wide interpretation. The implication was that he had not even slept with the woman. I still tend to believe that if he had made his current statement when the issue first appeared, he'd be much better off than he is now.
High Chancellor for Single Malt Scotches, Accounting Stuffs and Biffin Greeting.
/tell Biffin 'sup bro!
A: I could care less about Kobi
B: The gal is a known " sports groupie"
C: Nobody knows the real facts yet
D: The gal waited 12 hours to go to the police and "cry wolf ,,, i mean rape
E: He should get the hell beat out of him by his wife
F: thats enough for now
I just don't have time for those other minor sports.
You're an idiot. Texas has no good football teams right now neither college nor pro (hell Longhorns is by far the best, and they could probably beat the Cowboys.. not that it says much), while they have 2 of the best Basketball teams (pro) in San Antonio and Dallas, another good one in Houston, add in 2 good College basketball teams (Longhorns and Texas Tech), good female college basketball teams (Longhorns) etc.
I've lived in Texas, football does definitely not dominate like you think. Maybe in your trailerpark it does, though.
Edit: Fixed quote.
Last edited by Kelshara on July 21, 2003, 10:03 am, edited 1 time in total.
im almost sure this is fake, someone like a professional basketball player can have sex anytime with almost anyone they want, he would have no reason to rape someone
im sure it s just some stupid bitch looking to get money/attention or something
...the penalty for someone bringing up false charges for rape if proven should be as bad as for rape itself
Umm, Texas was one of the top teams in 2002/2003 season in regards to college football. Football is the pride of Texas, this is a known fact. Given that recently its been more dominant in basketball, it still doesnt change the fact that it is a heavy football state. Sorry, but you can't argue Texas isn't a football state when "America's Team" is the Dallas Cowboys.
I see what you're saying Vaemas, but I don't necessarily agree.
If the charges are in fact false, and if his 'handlers' (lawyers, bodyguards, confidants) told him that he wouldn't be getting charged, the damaged to his potential marketability is too severe for him to come out publically with a statement like that unless he absolutely has to.
Additionally, he went to the ESPYs the other night, under the impression that he wouldn't be being charged. During the ceremony, he told he would be being charged, and he left immediately.
I think adultery is a horrible, hurtful thing at best, but very frankly, that action is between him and his wife; no one else.
With the current information available, Kobe looks innocent to me, but that could change depending on what details are revealed to the public. I think thus far, with Kobe's presumed innocence, he's been handling it very well.
Oh, my God; I care so little, I almost passed out.
Apparently, the girl had a drug problem too. I tend to believe Kobe so far. Although, as others have said, things may change as new evidence is discovered and released to the public.
First off, I wouldn't be surprised in the least if there were an understanding between Kobe and his wife that he might go out and get some strange from time to time. She married him when he was already the Kobe we know today, and from hearing a few people talk on TV this weekend, that kind of setup isn't all that uncommon for professional athletes. I feel like there's a decent chance she already knew, and that some of his press conference was mere posturing on his part.
I also don't think he raped anyone. As has been said, he's a young, rich, good-looking, super-famous athlete. He could consentually bang 99% of the women in the world. He's also relatively intelligent and I'd think he'd understand that if he were to force himself on someone in the postition he's in, he's sure as shit going to pay for it.
A couple other things that make me more inclined to side with Kobe on this one... the date in question was like the day after Kobe had knee surgery and he checked into the hotel on crutches. Certainly not the best time to be out committing felonies, I'd think it'd be easier for a victim to get away if he was in fact forcing himself on them. The most damning thing about the victim though is that she is a failed American Idol contestant that drove 1000 miles to try out for the show. That right there tells me she's an attention whore and makes her less credible in my eyes.
"It's like these guys take pride in being ignorant."- Barack Obama
Sylvus wrote:First off, I wouldn't be surprised in the least if there were an understanding between Kobe and his wife that he might go out and get some strange from time to time. She married him when he was already the Kobe we know today, and from hearing a few people talk on TV this weekend, that kind of setup isn't all that uncommon for professional athletes. I feel like there's a decent chance she already knew, and that some of his press conference was mere posturing on his part.
I have no idea if it was the case with Kobe, but it seems that stars like Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan can screw anyone they want and it's understood by their wives that that's the way it is. I'm not making a judgement here but screwing other women isn't that big a deal depending on what kind of relationship the marriage is. There's also a decent chance some of these wives were goldmining themselves. (and husbands depending) It matters not though if it was rape.
Can anyone else varify this? Interesting none-the-less.
I saw the site before it went down. She is a rather cute blonde haired gal. Cute, but no fantastic or anything. Yes, the site had listed her phone #, & home address!! Whether or not it was real I don't know.
Aranuil wrote:Sylvus, I could be mistaken, but I believe it was the day before his surgery. Let me know if I'm wrong.
After re-checking, I believe that you are right that it was before his surgery. I heard that he went in on crutches, and assumed it was after the surgery. Apparently he was injured badly enough that he had to be on crutches before he went under the knife?
"It's like these guys take pride in being ignorant."- Barack Obama