KOBE BRYANT LEAPS BACK IN NEW NIKE PROMOTION (merely recreational sexual assault---no big deal)

NY POST ^ | July 8, 2005 | BILL HOFFMANN

[Liz]

Two years after his arrest on a sexual assault charge, Kobe Bryant has leaped back into the endorsement game....featured in a two-page Nike advertisement in the new issue of Sports Illustrated.

It's the first time the hoops legend has been seen in any ads since his bust in July 2003 stemming from the alleged attack on a 19-year-old Colorado hotel employee......Kobe admitted he'd had sex with the teen, but insisted it was consensual.

But the lurid allegations had all of Kobe's endorsement deals being pulled, which cost him millions of dollars.

The sex charge was dropped last September after his accuser said she no longer wanted to participate in the case and she and Bryant reached an undisclosed settlement in a civil lawsuit she filed against him.

.........some advertising analysts said Bryant could be finished as a major endorsement figure whether he was innocent or not.

But the new Nike ad, featuring a stark close-up of the athlete's face, proves that the taint on Bryant's name has lifted.

[Liz]

Maybe the BTK killer could get some big money endorsements for home alarm systems---his previous business? Or maybe the lowlife who kidnapped Shasta Groene and killed her brother could get a deal endorsing camping equipment? Man, the possibilities are endless.

[Colonel Kangaroo]

Maybe they figure they had better cash on Kobe while they can before more people realize the greatest skill Kobe ever had was in playing with Shaq.

[jaykay]

Now I'll go buy some nike shoes immediately.

[ncountylee]

Awful but I might not be demographically correct.

[Cali_Conservative03]

Well he wasn't actually convicted of sexual assault in the court of law. Don't get me wrong, I think the fact that he cheated on his wife was horrendous, but that doesn't mean he assaulted her.

There was also ALOT of information to suggest she was making up the actual assault claims for money, and she eventually dropped the charges anyway and settled out of court. She was bragging to her friends of buying implants and so on. It all seemed like a ploy for money to me.

[doosee]

Tiger Woods could become my all time greatest hero if he would drop NIKE immediately over this. Shoes for idiots.

[Liz]

Oh, please----that's SOP----the guy saying it was consensual.

Granted the woman was naive and stupid to go to his room---not realizing men interpret a willingness to be there as a greenlight for sex.

But her naivete and stupidity did not give Bryant a right to assault her when she said no.


As I recall, boxer Tyson went to jail for the exact same thing---getting a woman into his hotel room, then raping her.

[Zacs Mom]

Nike, cRats and, indeed, the state of Oregon have a different take on what is "acceptable" ~ case in point, former Nike CEO, U.S. Secretary of Transportation under President Jimmy Carter & Governor of Oregon, Neil Goldschmidt

[durasell]

You have special knowledge of what went on in that room? What happened to Bryant is the oldest scam in the book.

[Cali_Conservative03]

Your exactly right, Tyson WENT to jail. He was convicted of assault. If this woman was truly sexually assualted or any woman for that matter, wouldn't you want to see the person who did it to you in jail? Wouldn't you want him to pay for his crime? Apparently she didn't care and just wanted the settlement money out of court. The prosecution was trying to go on with the case, but she refused to testify and settled out of court.

Why would you brag do your friends about using settlement money to buy implants when you haven't even settled out of court yet and the case is still in it's criminal phase? It just didn't add up to me. This was no tyson case. He wasn't convicted of any crime. Sorry, but facts are facts.

[Malesherbes]

Anyone who buys overpriced sneakers on the advice of Kobe Bryant is an idiot.

[JNL]

You've got that right. I'm not even a fan of Kobe (basketball for that matter) but it sure smelt (even my usually guilty till proven wife thought so)

[durasell]

I don't like basketball, either. But the way I see it: The girl tried to score some cash, the thing spiraled out of control and Bryant got to pay the "stupid tax." This is a tax levied on celebrities who act "stupid." It's an effective redistribution of wealth that benefits car dealerships, jewelry stores and plastic surgeons.

[elli1]

Smelled like 'undisclosed cash settlement' to me from the get-go.

[durasell]

He could have saved a few bucks by just throwing a telephone at someone, like Russell Crowe. The stupid tax works on a sliding scale.

[Liz]

FReepers, did you know that Nike has a (sob) foundation to counter "gender inequality and social injustice" (sniffle). I suggest we tell Nike the Bryant endorsement does nothing to further these aims.



FROM NIKE WEB SITE We welcome your input as we strive to address the challenges of gender inequality and social injustice. Please send us your suggestions, comments and questions.

By mail:
The Nike Foundation
One Bowerman Drive
Beaverton, OR 97005
U.S.A.

By phone:
1-888-448-NIKE

By e-mail:
nike.foundation@nike.com

[JNL]

You forgot the sarcasm tag

[durasell]

Uh, Nike has been in the spotlight for human rights abuses in its third world factories for years.

[Liz]

Thanks for the link---shocking story. All of the people who knew pedophile Goldschmitt was assaulting an underage girl are guilty of aiding and abetting------oh, wait a sec----that's when we had laws (smirk).

[Liz]

Yeah, I usually added the tag---then FReepers kept telling me it wasn't necessary---they were conditioned to read my posts with tongue in cheek (grin).