I never liked Kobe Bryant.
What I'd read about him even BEFORE he became the face of the post-Michael NBA and a convicted philanderer told me that this was one strange, self-absorbed, one-dimensional cat. Someone who didn't mingle with teammates. Thought a big night with a girl included a trip to his house to watch hours of tapes...of Him...playing...basketball.
He followed the Lakers' title runs with a world-class hissy fit that forced L.A. management to trade Shaquille O'Neal--the team's now his, just the way He wanted it, and the good news for we Bryant Bashers is that the Lakers in His Image blow chunks.
Now comes the latest act in the Kobe drama--he bopped not one, but two defenders in recent games, flailing his arm wildly after launching a jump shot (hard to believe, Kobe shooting). There's another instance of Byrant vigorously applying his forearm to a defender's throat, but that happened well before these two recent attacks.
The first flail, in which he busted a San Antonio Spur's mug, got defended in more circles than I care to count, even by friends of mine who I consider knowledgeable basketball fans . They said it was a normal hoop move. "Okay, be honest," I responded. "When you're in your driveway teaching your kids how to shoot a 'J', how often to you show them the Byrant 'arm-flail' technique?"
Cue the crickets.
The most recent incident this--the one that forced a second one-game suspension that played a huge role in the Bucks win over the Lakers Wednesday night--is just as egregious and equally flagrant. And, it's generating the same number of apologists, including this mope on MSNBC:
Yeah, that's right--Kobe Bryant is the FIRST player in the history of sport frustrated by his surroundings and, thus, is justified when he acts out. Bulls--t. And remember, the Lakers have the roster they do in large part because He couldn't stand sharing the spotlight with equals.
ESPN's Dan Le Batard sounded just as inane when he blamed the Kobe flail on the fact Bryant is constantly double-teamed. Right, Dan: Kareem, Magic, Michael and Bird NEVER had to contend with tight "d" or multiple defenders. That explains why they, too, used their arms as battering rams to smash the faces of the nearest oppo...oh, wait, that's right, they didn't pull any of that crap, did they? Le Batard also suggests that the flail is Bryant's effort to draw a foul--like He needs help getting whistles. The NBA already bends over to the point of bastardizing the integrity of it's game to make sure you can't exhale on a 'star', much less lay a hand on one. What a load.
There's no defending what this chump did, and the league should come down harder than a one-game sit after this second offense. The first suspension obviously did nothing to break Bryant of what is now a habit--the NBA should do something before the next thing broken is someone's face.
Take a page out of the NHL's book in the case of New York Islander Chris Simon who assaulted an opponent with his stick the other night--Simon is suspended indefinitely, and it's my uninformed guess he's done for the season, playoffs included. Good. Any athlete in any sport who tries hurting an opponent needs to be dealt with severely--even if the victim pops right back up and keeps playing. Make it worse if there's an injury, and max it out when someone is sidelined by a vicious act. Save the sport. Lose the goons. And let's muzzle the nation of apologists defending the indefensible.
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