Looking Up at Pedestal Gives Distorted View

Rape. Adultery. Kobe.

Two weeks of whispers have become one giant gasp, spreading across our landscape in a choking, burning cloud.

Penetration. Submission. Kobe.

Two weeks of thoughts have been transformed into words, thick words, dark words, clomping across our page with a shiver in their steps.

Kobe Bryant is charged with the felony sexual assault of a 19-year-old woman.

He declares his innocence.

But he admits committing adultery with her.

Then he tearfully and publicly begs his wife, Vanessa, for forgiveness.

All of his happening in a four-hour span Friday in one of the most jaw-dropping days in Los Angeles sports history.

It began on a small-town Colorado courthouse lawn. It ended in a crowded Staples Center media room. Stories clashed, emotions flamed, shock reigned, and by the time the smoke dissipated, there was only one thing clear.

Kobe Bryant will never look quite the same.

His reputation is in pieces. His future is in doubt. His believers can no longer be in denial.

Those of us who naively thought we knew Los Angeles’ leading sports hero were reminded that those living on distant pedestals can never be known.

Those angry with Bryant for fooling us should realize that we were only fooling ourselves.

Remember the stunning day Magic Johnson acknowledged he was suffering from HIV?

Friday was that day, but with a criminal allegation that could send this Laker to jail for the rest of his life.

Said Mark Hurlbert, Eagle County district attorney: “I feel after looking at the evidence, I can prove this beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Said Bryant: “I’m innocent. I didn’t force her to do anything against her will. I’m innocent.”

Innocent of the crime until proven otherwise.

Innocence lost, forever.

Moments after the charges were announced, Bryant issued a statement that he was, indeed, guilty of having sexual relations with the woman. Then he brought his wife to an evening news conference to make a tearful speech to both the media and Vanessa.

They tightly held hands. Vanessa gently stroked his arms. Dozens of cameras clicked.

At times, Vanessa looked away, seemingly irritated and exasperated. Other times, she looked into his eyes and softened.

Bryant looked determined, the same look we have seen every game of every spring.

“I’m sitting here in front of you guys ... furious at myself, disgusted at myself for making the mistake of adultery,” Bryant told the media.

Turning to Vanessa, he said, “You’re a blessing. You’re a piece of my heart. ... You’re the strongest person I know. I’m so sorry for having to put you through this.”

While it sounded like a Hallmark card, it more closely resembled a life preserver.

It was surreal seeing Bryant, an intensely private family man who has spoken often of his devotion to his young wife, publicly admitting to an indiscretion.

It was startling to see Bryant, who is rarely spotted with his wife in public, bringing her in front of the national spotlight.

Vanessa has been on TV twice in the last three days, after being seen on TV twice in the previous two years.

Yeah, it is obvious Bryant is in trouble.

This is not a man fighting for his image. This is a man fighting for his life.

At this point, it seems, his image is not worth the effort.

While the sexual assault charge is only a charge, it involves a young district attorney who, after two weeks of deliberation, is willing to bet his career that he has the physical evidence.

Bryant is obviously innocent until proven guilty. But for the upcoming months, his reputation will be locked in a cell with words like “restraint” and “submission by force” and, of course, “rape.”

Then there is the issue of Friday’s only undisputed fact -- that Kobe Bryant cheated on his wife of two years, six months after the birth of his first child.

Certainly, public adultery is no longer a scarlet letter in society. Look at Hollywood. Look at the White House.

“I’m a human being.... I’m a man just like anybody else,” Bryant said.

Yet he was a man who was consistently proactive about fidelity. He was a man who would scold those who even jokingly suggested that he look at other women.

He was married young against the advice of teammates. He stuck by Vanessa despite animosity from his father. He was a man who put himself high on a moral perch.

Thus, he falls longer and harder than the likes of Allen Iverson, whose image survived assault charges because he used to portray himself as a gangster.

Those who believed in Bryant feel duped. Those who thought he was too good to be true were right.

In this matter, beyond all shadows of doubt, he already has been proven to possess poor judgment.

The Lakers, meanwhile, showed questionable judgment by hosting and sanctioning his innocence-declaring news conference.

In such matters, for fear of appearing to gang up on alleged victims, sports teams usually only offer a statement of support.

Bryant’s news conference eerily occurred at the same place where, less than two hours later, the WNBA’s Sparks hosted the Houston Comets.

Women celebrating female empowerment, preceded by a man professing his innocence on charges of sexual assault. A strange, sad, shiver of a day.

Bill Plaschke can be reached at bill.plaschke@latimes.com.