Place to Pass Judgment on Kobe Bryant Is in Court

A high-profile Los Angeles athlete is accused of a heinous crime that is incongruent with his wholesome, impeccable image. Even though we have no idea as to the evidence in the case, people already are making judgments about what happened, and the media is fueling this speculation. TV channels have been filled with interviews with fans and fellow athletes proclaiming his innocence and how unlikely it is that he would rape a woman. Within 24 hours of the indictment, the victim’s reputation was being assailed on TV.

Sound familiar?

In the weeks and months ahead, the media have the duty to do better covering the Kobe Bryant case than it did a decade ago covering O.J. Simpson’s.

Already, I have heard interviews with people speculating as to why the alleged victim would make false accusations against Bryant. Already, there have been numerous reports about the woman having called the police on other occasions and having recently broken up with a boyfriend, as if this information is somehow relevant to the issue of whether a rape occurred.

In the same vein, the endless statements by fellow athletes and fans that Bryant never could do such a thing serve no purpose. None of us know Bryant or whether he is capable of rape. Endearing McDonald’s commercials showing him playing basketball with children no more give us a sense of Bryant than Hertz commercials let us know whether Simpson would commit murder. The presence of celebrities in our homes on a daily basis gives us a sense that we know them, almost as friends, but all we know is the athlete’s image.

The media also have the duty to ensure that the alleged victim is respected. During the media coverage of the Simpson saga, countless false and unflattering things were said about the victims, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Demonizing the victim serves no purpose.

Now that Bryant has admitted that he had sex with the alleged victim, the sole issue almost certainly will be on whether it was consensual or forced. The media can play a useful role in educating the public as to how this is often the case in rape trials and as to how judges and juries evaluate consent in a case like this, including the physical evidence that is presented and how conflicting accounts are handled.

Few would deny that the media’s attention to the Simpson case was entirely out of proportion to the story’s importance. Every national network covered, gavel-to-gavel, the preliminary hearing and the opening statements and the closing arguments at the trial; three national television and two national radio stations covered the entire trial.

On the other hand, people learned more about the legal system from the Simpson case than from any other event in U.S. history.

For months to come, the news will be filled with stories about the legal proceedings against Bryant. What people think of the legal system, and their understanding of how it handles rape cases, will be shaped by the media’s coverage. Let’s hope that the last trial of the century can help improve the media’s handling of this one.