I’m young enough. Yet, I’m old enough. I’m a female. I’m multiracial. I’m educated. I like sports. I have a Father who LOVES sports.
So, I should’ve heard about the Mamba’s less than perfect history, right?
Wrong.
When news broke on Sunday that Kobe Bryant passed away in a helicopter crash, it was unbelievable. People everywhere were tweeting and Facebooking their condolences to the family. False news reports were being published faster than we could refresh our pages. I was scrolling through Apple News today, and there it was, an article headline that I couldn’t believe I was seeing. “Kobe Bryant has died. It’s OK to talk about his rape case.”
I’m sorry, his what?? I start reading the article in slight confusion. How have I, the girl that grew up on sports, never heard of this?
That was the question in my mind until the author of the article, Clémence Michallon, made it clear.
I didn’t hear about this simply because no one wants to discuss it. Which, makes sense. A black man, who’s an athlete, with an accused rape charge? That’s almost impossible to come back from.
The reason I chose this article to write about is that the point of view Clémence Michallon has while writing it. She explains that yes, it is a terrible thing that he did, but it was still something he did.
“There needs to be room for this conversation to happen somewhere,” and, there does. The tone in which she writes the article is so unbiased. I would have to assume most of the readers who viewed the report could sense that as well. After discussing the article with my coworker and with my friend, my assumption proved to be true. The way that Michallon, a female, carries the conversation about rape shows that it is possible to talk about mistakes with a level head.
She goes onto discuss another hot topic about Bryant’s life, the time he used a homophobic slur toward a referee.
Not once does Michallon put Bryant down during the article. She only brings to light the truth, that a man who is looked at (respectively) as one of the greats, made mistakes. It’s okay for people to make mistakes; it doesn’t mean they are a terrible person. Michallon highlights that fact in her closing paragraph, “He was one of the best basketball players the world has ever seen and a hero to many. He was also once accused of rape and caught using a homophobic slur on the court. There is room in our hearts and our brains to acknowledge it all.”
This article was interesting to me for many reasons, including the subject itself. However, I have to say the most interesting (and inspiring) aspect of the article is how Michallon carries her viewpoint with grace and respect while proving that even “the greats” are human too.
Referencing article from https://apple.news/A155kEuiESxKNph7tRGDJZw
Naturally Natalia 