Boycott Kobe's New Jersey

Jordan's 23 had also been retired at that point. 45 was his brother's number, and he initially chose 23 because it was (roughly) half his brother's number.

Sad, that this 'opinion' or 'story' is a copied comment from a thread yesterday, guess that's the kind of creativity we can expect from thesportsfan.tv

Prima Donna? Egotistical? Sexual Assaulting? You're worse than the National Enquirer. Why not judge the man a) on the talent for which he is known and b) the stuff that can be proven? Sexual Assault is a crime. America exists (supposedly) in a state of innocence until proven guilty....do I need to make the connection for you.

And since you're using old comments, I'll place my old response to you from yesterday...

In order for a player to change jersey numbers at will, he either has to change teams or have the team inform the league of the decision more than six months in advance.

This is to say that Kobe isn't thinking about his jersey now...in fact it was thought about 6 months ago....if you personally don't like Kobe just say it....don't try to twist a story for your justification of not liking him. So give me a break EM, don't state opinions based on pure emotion, they tend to be real flimsy.

And furthermore, Kobe wore 33 for one year in high school to honor his father who wore that number. The rest of his high school days he wore 24. In 1996-97, 24 was worn by George McCloud, 33 was retired, and 8 was the sum of his McDonalds (or some high school all star game) jersey number 143. Isn't life easier when you have information to back up your rants?

Kobe's New Jersey? He don't own my state!

Xtinct, think about who you are defending. Don't let your blind allegiance to him and the Lakers cloud your judgement. The guy is scum.

Think of the girl, will you? Why did he pay her off? Do innocent people pay off accusers?

I betcha you think Michael Jackson is innocent, too.

Actually, I don't care one way or the other. Do I condone Kobe's adultery? No, but once again, my allegiance to the Lakers and Kobe are in regards to what happens on the court...something you tend to avoid in most of your rants against Kobe.

As far as her being 'paid off', remember she dropped the charges. It appears she didn't feel so strong in her case to prove without reasonable doubt that a crime occurred. Civil cases are much easier to prove especially given the profile of this case. So was he innocent of sexual assault as you loudly and often tout, yes. Did he pay her off to shut her up, perhaps but the real reason was that it's usually cheaper to settle out of civil court than it is to lose in civil court.

So don't let your blind hate distort your judgement. And think of the girl? How many specimens of semen were found in her panties....not that means she deserves to be sexually assaulted but she wasn't exactly the girl next door victim you're pretending she was.

If it were your or me in Kobe's shoes, we'd both be in jail right now and you know it. At the very least, Kobe pressured her into performing sexual acts. That's a crime. And if a common man was to be charged with that, he'd go to jail. But not Kobe. Throw some cash at the victim, buy his wife a diamond ring, justify yourself by claiming that Shaq does this kind of thing all the time, and you can become a free man.

Our legal system, like most things in our country, is tilted in favor of the rich and famous. Stop pretending that the legal system is perfect. It's not. This girl knew that Kobe's lawyers were going to embarrass her publically and further tarnish her image. So she took the money. But if Kobe was truly innocent, there would money to take.

By the way, I would love to see you defend Kobe to the parents of the girl.

You speak as if you were in the room with them. 'Kobe pressured her into performing sexual acts', were you in the bathroom watching. Just like me, you have no clue what went on in that room. You're using scant details at best to make a picture fit into the world you want to believe.

I'm not pretending that the legal system is perfect. I'm saying that I think her plan the entire time was to get money. Just as you want me to 'stop pretending the legal system is perfect', you should stop pretending as if there are people out there not looking for opportunities to exploit the rich and famous.

By the way, you have yet to respond to any comments about a)my initial comments regarding the jersey number, b)your reluctance to actually discuss Kobe's basketball game? Seems to me like you're hung up on a single incident and every Kobe statement you make will evolve from this incident.

I think Kobe is a phenomenal player. Don't get me wrong. But I think his selfishness takes away from his greatness. And this whole number change thing is a microcosm of his attitude. That's all I really had to say.

When folks call him selfish, I say selfish doesn't lead the team in assists 5 of the last 7 years. It's almost as if people think he plays point guard but he doesn't. He's a shooting guard. I'll reiterate, shooting guard. What do you want from him?

That last comment is from me. And for the record, here's an interesting article from after his 81 point performance. . . . http://www.c...3643595.html

Selfish = Breaking up a championship team because you want to be the star.

Selfish = Expecting your wife to be faithful while you are a sexual predator

Fact: Shaq offered in February of his final year a contract that would have kept him the highest paid player in league...refused it.

Rumor: Kobe talked to Jerry Buss to break up the Lakers. Though propagated by many folks, including 'respected' journalists, it still is simply an emotional response. There are no phone calls, no reported secret meetings, no emails, nothing to support that Kobe every went to ownership and said Me or Shaq.

As far as the only argument you've had through this entire conversation regarding his 'personal' life, you once again talk like you're sitting in the living room or at the dinner table and Kobe's saying 'Hell yeah, I expect my wife to be faithful.' Again you're pulling emotions out of nowhere and trying to make them a fact.

By the way, my source for Shaq's refusal was the book by Mark Heisler, an L.A. reporter entitled Madmen's Ball: The Inside Story of the Lakers' Dysfunctional Dynasties

Fact: Without Shaq Kobe is merely Stephon Marbury, a me first player who can't take his team to the championship. Maybe the Lakers can trade Kobe for Jason Kidd, it worked for the Nets!

Worked for the nets how? Still no rings....

For the record Kobe did not "pay her off", he settled a civil suit with her. Also if she were really assaulted she would have went through with the case. She got what she wanted.