Liberty and Justice For All

The star basketball player is accused of sexual assault, and the world is shocked. This decision could impact his whole life and yet he continues to play basketball, and no one denies him this. Is something familiar and wrong with this picture? Kobe Bryant, star player and endorser of goods raped a girl back in the summer of 2003. He could get life in prison, yet he still is the star of the Lakers, still has kids wearing his jerseys, and still gets praise for his playing abilities. Do I think this is right? No. It doesn't matter what the girl's previous medical history is. She has had to go into hiding and this whole thing is hurting her psyche. Yes, some people yell rape even when nothing occurred. That takes away from true victims. Victims do not like coming forward because they don't want to be ridiculed and shamed. It is not the victim's fault, and this needs to be pounded into people's heads so that justice is served.

We have our own Kobe Bryant right here in Wisconsin. That's right, get in line to watch this phenom dunk! Watch him evade his court case! This story hasn't been that big, it did have a couple stories in the Leader Telegram and an editorial in the Spectator. When I had first read the story about Hudson's star basketball center, (we decided to take his name out of the article), I was completely dumbfounded and mad as hell. His case, in which he will eventually plead guilty to two fourth degree sexual assault charges, has been pushed back yet again so that this outstanding citizen can continue his high school basketball career. His mother pleaded with the judge because if the case were brought to court now; he would be kicked off the basketball team and miss out on some college scholarships that he truly deserves. Here is part of the letter she wrote to persuade the judge to delay the case.

"In turn, this (case) will be discovered by college recruiters who will likely deny him entrance into their college and/or their athletic programs," the letter said.

This unnamed person would not receive any scholarships, and his ability to pursue something that he is successful at will be taken from him, his mother wrote.

"With a plea in January, we will be punishing [him] in an ongoing way that does not seem commensurate with the alleged crime. It is in everyone's best interest to help Waylon succeed and become a healthy, well-adjusted adult by allowing him to continue to do what he excels at," she wrote.

To paraphrase John Stossel of 20/20 fame, give me a f***ing break.

This kid has yet to be punished at all!! What is his mom talking about, and why doesn't she have a conscience? Obviously, when you are a parent you will try to protect your child in any way possible, but when they break the law, then maybe it's time to step back and reflect on where you went wrong. It is HER responsibility to make sure he is a "healthy, well-adjusted adult" not the rest of the world's. She failed, she's trying to cover it up, and she doesn't want to pay for his college tuition. Wow, do I feel sorry for these people.

Why should this 18 year old "man" be allowed to continue with his life when his victim can't? He passed up on those scholarships the moment he decided to assault his victim.

Are we supposed to feel sorry for this cocky basketball player because he broke the law? Um, no, last time I checked I believe the victim is suppose to get our pity. The victim, by the way, has had to switch schools. This kid is going to get a free ride to college because he can play basketball; yet he doesn't deserve a dime. I can't believe that the school is even allowing this. It's outrageous! Aren't our schools supposed to be about education? Why have sports become so important? Why do they supercede our justice system? Money. Games bring in money to the high schools, players get scholarships to the colleges, and colleges get money from the games. Is this right? Well, money makes the world go round, and there's nothing wrong with that, we live in a capitalist country and hey I'm all for that, but some things are more important than money. Criminals should not be allowed to have their cake and eat it too.

The incident happened when the victim was only 14 years old. He was charged with assaulting this girl back in December of 2002. Just a quick reminder, it's February of 2004!!!! This case has been delayed too long. I hope colleges and universities know what this kid's background is and they stay away.
Professional, college, and high school sports need to clean up their acts. We have OJ Simpson, baseball players being shot and killed, college basketball players getting shot and killed, Rae Carruth having his girlfriend and unborn child killed, THG testing, ephedrine deaths, etc. The list goes on and on.

Yes, we glamorize sports, we live and die with our favorite teams, we give players huge contracts, and some players treat it all like it's a free pass to do whatever they please, whether it's legal or not. We need a big crackdown on all the wrong things that go on in the big sports world, look at how it has affected high school sports.

Victims need closure to an awful period in their life; they should not be stuck in their own personal hell so the sports hero can lead his/her team to victory.
Let's start out small, let's get this high school kid off the court and into the court room.

-Sarah Brovan wishes the Packers were in the Super Bowl.