# Kobe is No Hero... (Article)



## Hibachi! (Sep 18, 2003)

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=whitlock/040513



> You would think his name is Kobe Tillman or Pat Bryant. You would think Kobe Bryant is an American hero, shuttling back and forth between Baghdad and Los Angeles.
> 
> There's no stopping RamKo.
> "The mental part that Kobe's going through, nobody can imagine,'' a Lakers' assistant coach was quoted as saying in an ESPN.com story. "He's done that consistently when he's come back from Colorado. There's a lack of sleep involved, so much else. It's pretty incredible."
> ...


Theres more to the article... This is just a piece? Any of you feel the same way? Any of you feel different?


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## Hov (Aug 12, 2003)

Who's calling Kobe a hero?


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## reggie4life (May 12, 2004)

Whats the over /under on all of the trolls coming out and starting threads if the Lakers lose tonight, How kobe is human?? I really would like to know what Hall Of famer went their whole career without losing a playoff series


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## jstempi (Jul 23, 2003)

Thanks for perpetuating this stupid made up story SacKings. Nobody thinks Kobe is a hero and the writer is just another pathetic loser throwing feces on a peice of paper hoping for a payday.


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## reggie4life (May 12, 2004)

Kobe made a mistake of adultery this guy made a mistake of being an idiot!! Who cares what this moron has to say. Kobe should have just paid this girl to be quiet like MJ did when he got that chic pregnant!


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

I agree that it is an absurd situation. So Kobe doesn't get any sleep, and has to fly back and forth from Denver...tough ****. It's a situation he created for himself. The media is getting dangerously close to giving him props for the whole thing, which I think would be a travesty.

I kind of wish they wouldn't mention at all if they could. It's all very awkward.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>reggie4life</b>!
> Whats the over /under on all of the trolls coming out and starting threads if the Lakers lose tonight, How kobe is human?? I really would like to know what Hall Of famer went their whole career without losing a playoff series


Probably the same as the over/under on all the trolls who came out to post about how great Kobe was after one good playoff game.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>futuristxen</b>!
> The media is getting dangerously close to giving him props for the whole thing, which I think would be a travesty.


I agree. But that is the society we live in.

Who gets more credit, the guy who was a raging alcoholic and has been sober for 5 years, or the guy who has been sober every single year of his life?

Or the dramatization of a football player who went overseas and died while we dont hear a peep about the hundreds of others that have died.


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## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>JNice</b>!
> 
> 
> I agree. But that is the society we live in.
> ...


This is a great post here. Agree with you 100%.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>JNice</b>!
> 
> 
> I agree. But that is the society we live in.
> ...


That's very true. I guess there's not much to do other than compain about it when the time arrives, and otherwise just accept it.


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## Minstrel (Dec 31, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>JNice</b>!
> 
> 
> I agree. But that is the society we live in.
> ...


Very good post.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Dick Stockton or Al Mguire, or Brad Nestler, whoever it is that is working the Laker game with Doc Rivers did a really nice job of making the point. I think he heard the criticism.


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## Pinball (Aug 3, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>JNice</b>!
> 
> 
> I agree. But that is the society we live in.
> ...


Very true. The Pat Tillman references never seem to cease. The media thinks that they can inject his name into any situation as a point of comparison. I can just see it now: "Hey, Mother Teresa did a lot of great things for impoverished children but she was no Pat Tillman". Meanwhile, Reggie Thompson from the Bronx will have his body flown home from Iraq and no one will give a ****.


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## Hibachi! (Sep 18, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>Pinball</b>!
> 
> 
> Very true. The Pat Tillman references never seem to cease. The media thinks that they can inject his name into any situation as a point of comparison. I can just see it now: "Hey, Mother Teresa did a lot of great things for impoverished children but she was no Pat Tillman". Meanwhile, Reggie Thompson from the Bronx will have his body flown home from Iraq and no one will give a ****.


Tillman imo is still a little more heroic simply because i dont think 99% of those soldiers would be there if they had a 3 million dollar a year contract on the table and a huge career in football ahead of them...


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## Hibachi! (Sep 18, 2003)

I just find it odd how people go, Kobe Bryant, this guy is amazing, what he is doing is just so courageous, going from court to court... Does anyone know WHY hes in court? I mean COME ON, hes in there for rape, and if nothing else, he cheated on his wife...


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## Kmasonbx (Apr 7, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>SacKings384</b>!
> 
> 
> Tillman imo is still a little more heroic simply because i dont think 99% of those soldiers would be there if they had a 3 million dollar a year contract on the table and a huge career in football ahead of them...


Exactly what I was thinking. I have a lot more respect for him doing what he did than pretty much any other soldier. A lot of the men who join the armed services do so because they aren't doing anything else, so they go. This man had a multi million dollar contract on the table and turned it down to fight for his country. But is he anymore of a hero than "Reggie Thompson from the Bronx" as Pinball said, the answer is no, because they both would have died for the same reason. But the chances are Reggie Thompson was working in K Mart when he decided to go, so he didn't leave much behind. 

I also haven't heard anybody call Kobe a hero, it's just amazing that he can go back and forth from court, and still play like there is nothing negative going on in his life. But I guess the basketball court is the only place he can get his mind off of the court room.


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## Nevus (Jun 3, 2003)

> But the chances are Reggie Thompson was working in K Mart when he decided to go, so he didn't leave much behind.


Except, umm, his life?


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## Kmasonbx (Apr 7, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>Nevus</b>!
> 
> 
> Except, umm, his life?


Well thats a given, I'm saying if two people die in war, and 1 person went to war turning down 3 million and the other left behind a job at K Mart whose decision do you respect more to go to war?


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>Kmasonbx</b>!
> 
> 
> Well thats a given, I'm saying if two people die in war, and 1 person went to war turning down 3 million and the other left behind a job at K Mart whose decision do you respect more to go to war?


It's still a sacrifice. It's not even really about money. It's about family and loved ones. You can't put a price tag on that, and that's really what is most important.


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## Nevus (Jun 3, 2003)

> Well thats a given, I'm saying if two people die in war, and 1 person went to war turning down 3 million and the other left behind a job at K Mart whose decision do you respect more to go to war?


More money does not mean more happiness... and I'm not going to get into my politics about war here on the main board. But in terms of a sacrifice, I don't think the money matters so much.


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## Wild_Wookiee (May 7, 2004)

I think Kobe trying to get back from court in time to play the same night shows where his priorities are. Someone should tell Kobe the trial is not some makebelieve game that isn't real. We shouldn't be touched by how much he cares about winning, maybe winning is all he cares about. I think Pro sports leagues should suspend players when they get into legal trouble until it is resolved, it would make the athletes think before they act.


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## "Matt!" (Jul 24, 2002)

I respected the guy's opinion until this:



> But besides me, Jacko has virtually no defenders in the media. You'll never convince me that Michael is capable of the crimes he's accused of. I just don't believe it.


That's just...wow.


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## Ice Nine (Apr 3, 2004)

> Originally posted by <b>Wild_Wookiee</b>!
> I think Kobe trying to get back from court in time to play the same night shows where his priorities are. Someone should tell Kobe the trial is not some makebelieve game that isn't real. We shouldn't be touched by how much he cares about winning, maybe winning is all he cares about. I think Pro sports leagues should suspend players when they get into legal trouble until it is resolved, it would make the athletes think before they act.


There's no realistic chance Kobe is going to be convicted. First, it's he said vs. she said. Two, he's rich. Three, he's famous. Even Jayson Williams got off and about 10 people saw that psycho blow a limo driver away with a shotgun.

The NBA has a lot of low-lifes in it. Root for the player, not the person, is my advice. I don't care what these guys do off the court. They could be serial rapists or philanthropists for all I care.


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## kflo (Jun 28, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>futuristxen</b>!
> 
> 
> It's still a sacrifice. It's not even really about money. It's about family and loved ones. You can't put a price tag on that, and that's really what is most important.


they both sacrificed, and they are both heroic.

tillman is high profile, and he sets an example for others. he shines a light on ourselves and others where someone else can't. and the personal sacrifice to give up a life of luxury and fame and adulation for our country is certainly something that everyone can admire.


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## Ice Nine (Apr 3, 2004)

The reason Tillman has been beatified by the media is because we equate wealth with worth in our capitalist society. Our army is composed of some of our poorest, and therefore most expendible, citizens. So don't expect much fanfare when Joe Welfare kicks the bucket; he'll be lucky if Dan Rather includes him in the daily kill count on the evening news.

Why does the NFL price season tickets far beyond the means of enlisted men & women? Sorta ironic how just about no active duty personnel can afford season tickets to Soldier Field.

Why do senators, congressmen, supreme court justices, etc. make about ten times as much as some shmuck putting his life on the line in Iraq?

The simple truth is we treat our military like garbage. Here's what Kurt Vonnegut has to say upon the matter in Slaughterhouse Five:



> A German major came in now. He considered the Englishmen as close friends. He visited them nearly every day, played games with them, lectured to them on German history, played their piano, gave them lessons in conversational German. He told them often that, if it weren’t for their civilized company, he would go mad. His English was splendid.
> 
> He was apologetic about the Englishmen’s having to put up with the American enlisted men. He promised them that they would not be inconvenienced for more than a day or two, that the Americans would soon be shipped to Dresden as contract labor. He had a monograph with him, published by the German Association of Prison Officials. It was a report on the behavior in Germany of American enlisted men as prisoners of war. It was written by a former American who had risen high in the German Ministry of Propaganda. His name was Howard W. Campbell, Jr. He would later hang himself while awaiting trial as a war criminal.
> 
> ...


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## IV (Jul 16, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Wild_Wookiee</b>!
> I think Kobe trying to get back from court in time to play the same night shows where his priorities are. Someone should tell Kobe the trial is not some makebelieve game that isn't real.


You're confusing the media with Kobe. You never heard Kobe rave about his travels between court and the nba. The media hypes that. It's their job, it's what they do... unfortunately the perception the media gives usually is taken out on the person the media is hyping. Just like Kobe being compared to Jordan. Kobe has never said that, but he's constantly ridiculed as if he had.



> We shouldn't be touched by how much he cares about winning, maybe winning is all he cares about.


I don't know about you or what team you root for, but I happen to appreciate the fact that players on the Lakers care about winning. That's important, if you think about it.


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## Wild_Wookiee (May 7, 2004)

What did you think of this quote I wrote.


> I think Pro sports leagues should suspend players when they get into legal trouble until it is resolved, it would make the athletes think before they act.


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## Bartholomew Hunt (Mar 4, 2003)

Screw this. I guess Magic isn't a hero.


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## Hibachi! (Sep 18, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>-D!</b>!
> Screw this. I guess Magic isn't a hero.


Magic is a hero? He made a dumb move, he had unprotected sex and got aids... Since when is that being heroic?


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## Wild_Wookiee (May 7, 2004)

> I don't know about you or what team you root for, but I happen to appreciate the fact that players on the Lakers care about winning. That's important, if you think about it.


I was just refering to Kobe not the rest of the team.


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## Wild_Wookiee (May 7, 2004)

> The NBA has a lot of low-lifes in it. Root for the player, not the person, is my advice. I don't care what these guys do off the court. They could be serial rapists or philanthropists for all I care.


Most fans pay attention to when players get into big trouble. It affects players collectibles values such as sports cards when all this kobe stuff started his cards were on fire then it quickly turned direction. And what about the trial blazers attendance problems because of trouble makers like Patterson, Wallace, Wells, and damon staudermire. Iverson is another problem his team missed the playoffs because iverson won't practice and won't listen to any coach.


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## Ice Nine (Apr 3, 2004)

> Originally posted by <b>Wild_Wookiee</b>!
> I think Kobe trying to get back from court in time to play the same night shows where his priorities are. Someone should tell Kobe the trial is not some makebelieve game that isn't real. We shouldn't be touched by how much he cares about winning, maybe winning is all he cares about. I think Pro sports leagues should suspend players when they get into legal trouble until it is resolved, it would make the athletes think before they act.


This is akin to double jeopardy. It's also redundant. Let the judicial system, flawed as it may be, administer punishments for transgressions off the court. It also seems to fly in the face of "innocent until proven guilty".



> Most fans pay attention to when players get into big trouble. It affects players collectibles values such as sports cards when all this kobe stuff started his cards were on fire then it quickly turned direction. And what about the trial blazers attendance problems because of trouble makers like Patterson, Wallace, Wells, and damon staudermire. Iverson is another problem his team missed the playoffs because iverson won't practice and won't listen to any coach.


That's a pretty dumb reason to boycott a basketball franchise. "Oh no! Our heroes are smoking marijuana! Our children can no longer hold them as role models!"

Jason Kidd is a wife-beating slimebag, but he's more than welcome to play on my team.

Dikembe Mutombo is building a $15 million free hospital is his native land, but in no way do I want him on my team.

One is a hero on the court, the other is a hero off it. Guess which'll get you a championship first.


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## Wild_Wookiee (May 7, 2004)

> Let the judicial system, flawed as it may be, administer punishments for transgressions off the court.


Don't you agree that it does affect how the NBA or any sports league is viewed when players are commiting crimes. So should technical fouls be removed and suspensions and let the law handle it. If that was the case then spreewell and shaq(the brad miller fight) should have had assualt charges brought against them.


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## PatBateman (May 26, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>JNice</b>!
> 
> 
> I agree. But that is the society we live in.
> ...


hey don't blame the media. Blame the people who eat up this s***. The media just feeds America what it wants and people let it do their thinking for them, tell them their hopes, dreams, and what to believe in. But people allow this to go on.

If you consume the product they're selling, it's going to keep coming at you. That's what this country is all about now and to some extent really has been about: consumption and capitalism


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