The Globe supermarket tabloid recently broke a sacred journalism covenant by publishing the full name and photograph of the alleged victim in the Kobe Bryant case.
Earlier this year, the Globe published a July cover story that also featured the woman's photograph. Although she was recognizable to her friends and acquaintances, the tabloid shielded her eyes with a black bar and her name was not revealed.
"Do you think she's innocent?" That's the most common question I'm asked about Lilly Fuller [a pseudonym used to protect her identity], the alleged victim in the Kobe Bryant case. I often have to remind people that Fuller isn't the one who is on trial Bryant is.
The question never comes as a surprise, however. Thanks to a number of pretrial motions filed by Bryant's lawyers, coupled with tabloid spin, Fuller has been introduced to America as a deceptive, promiscuous young woman out for attention and financial gain. Despite the tall tales spun by Bryant's lawyers and dazzling publications such as the Globe and National Enquirer, nothing could be further from the truth.
Continue reading "Why Are the Tabs Ganging Up On Kobe Bryant's Accuser?" »
Thirty-six minutes past midnight on July 1, Kobe Bryant ordered a pay-per-view movie in what was about to become the most famous hotel room in America, a luxury suite in a remote corner of the exclusive Lodge and Spa at Cordillera in Eagle, Colo.
Nothing on Bryant's movie menu card could have been as gripping, unpredictable and melodramatic as what had happened in that well-appointed hotel room, and what was about to unfold in the days, weeks and months to come.
Continue reading "All-American Facing the Game of His Life" »
O'REILLY: In the "Unresolved Problem" segment tonight, basketball star Kobe Bryant fighting for his reputation and freedom, supposed to be in court today but he was too ill to attend. His trial on sexual assault charges is supposed to begin in the spring.
With us now, the author of a brand-new book called "Kobe Bryant: the Game of his Life," Jeffrey Scott Shapiro. All right, you're investigating this case, right?
Continue reading "The O'Reilly Factor Transcript - Feb. 2, 2004" »
Since the first headlines of the Kobe Bryant case streaked across the banners of major television news shows and newspapers, many people in the American public have held an unjustified, almost sadistic contempt for his alleged victim simply because she had the courage to come forward and tell her story to authorities.
As a result, she has been ridiculed, had her life threatened and been exiled by her own classmates. The anthem of our nation seems to sing, "How dare you accuse our beloved champion!"
According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, there were 247,730 victims of rape or sexual assault last year. One out of six American women have been the victims of an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime totaling over 17 million who have suffered at the hands of a sexual predator.
Yet despite the overwhelming amount of sexual assault victims in our society, many women fail to report what has happened to them.
