Kobe Bryant redeemed himself after alleged 2003 rape by saying sorry and taking responsibility: NY priest
Kobe Bryant did not have a perfect life. Just like everyone else, there were cracks in his illustrious and storied journey. But a certain New York priest believes there was "bright, redemptive light there too."
In an op-ed for CNN, Father Edward Beck remembered how Bryant was a practicing Catholic who took his faith seriously -- he attended Mass on Sundays and supported several charitable causes dedicated to helping the youth and families in need.
But Bryant had some rather tough times as well, most notably in 2003, when he was accused of rape by a 19-year-old hotel employee in Eagle, Colorado.
"At the time of the alleged sexual assault, in a troubling series of events, Bryant claimed that he thought the sex was consensual (even though he admitted to police that he had not explicitly asked for consent); his legal team tried to discredit the accuser by portraying her as promiscuous, and said her name in open court multiple times, and the court system leaked it to the media," Beck recounted.
The criminal case was eventually dropped after the woman's unwillingness to continue to cooperate with prosecutors. Nonetheless, she filed a civil lawsuit against the NBA star that ended in an undisclosed settlement.
Bryant was married to Vanessa Laine for two years and the couple had recently celebrated the birth of their first child when he was accused of the said rape. He was later charged with felony sexual assault. "I sit here in front of you guys furious at myself, disgusted at myself for making a mistake of adultery," he told a press conference in LA with his wife by his side. However, he still maintained that the encounter consensual, saying, "I didn't force her to do anything against her will. I'm innocent."
When the criminal case was dismissed in 2004, Father Beck noted how Bryant issued a statement with a surprisingly different tone.
"First, I want to apologize directly to the young woman involved in this incident," he said. "I want to apologize to her for my behavior that night and for the consequences she has suffered in the past year. Although this year has been incredibly difficult for me personally, I can only imagine the pain she has had to endure. I also want to apologize to her parents and family members, and to my family and friends and supporters, and to the citizens of Eagle, Colorado."
"I now understand how she feels that she did not consent to this encounter," the basketball star finally admitted.
"Wow, how rare — especially in cases such as this," Beck wrote of Kobe's admission. "Kobe said he was sorry and took moral responsibility for his behavior and the consequences of it. While some questioned the timing of his apology — made after case dismissal — many witnessed instead a self-professed sinner who had been humbled and had recognized his need for mercy and forgiveness. And thus the redemption of Kobe Bryant began — in the eyes of God, his Church, his family and many of his fans."
Kobe told GQ magazine in 2015 how "talking to a priest" was a turning point in his life. The renowned shooting guard recalled how the priest convinced him to "let it go."
"Move on. God's not going to give you anything you can't handle, and it's in his hands now," he told Kobe. "This is something you can't control. So let it go."
Despite going through a rocky period of separation and near divorce, Bryant fought for his marriage with Vanessa and fulfilled his duties as a loving father to four daughters.
"He was loved and forgiven by so many because they perceived an indefatigable man who accepted responsibility for his shortcomings," Beck wrote. "As a result, he has been celebrated as one of the most prodigious and upstanding athletes ever to compete in a sport."
Two hours before Kobe boarded the doomed chopper last Sunday, he prayed before the 7 a.m. Mass at his parish church, Our Lady Queen of the Angels, in Newport Beach, California.
"We don't know what Kobe prayed in the stillness of that morning, but at Mass each week he prayed, 'Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy,'" Beck recalled.
"Kobe's life is testimony that he meant the words of his prayer, and that his prayers were answered. Yes, his cracks were surely visible, but they were engulfed by the light shining through them for all the world to see," the priest concluded.