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CNN Live Sunday
Speculation Is Rampant In Kobe Bryant Rape Case
Aired July 20, 2003 - 18:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: L.A. Basketball star Kobe Bryant heads to court for a hearing on August 6th in Colorado. The NBA star was charged on Friday with the sexual assault of a 19-year- old Colorado woman. The 24-year-old denied the charge saying he was guilty only of adultery. If convicted, he faces four years to life but until then he's playing the game of his life on the court of public opinion. And, he's not the only one, speculation and reports are already popping up everywhere in the media about the woman who brought on the sexual accusation. CNN's Michael Okwu has more now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In almost the same breath that District Attorney Mark Hurlbert announced he'll be prosecuting NBA star Kobe Bryant, he warned the media not to focus on Bryant's accuser.
MARK HURLBERT, EAGLE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I ask you to respect the victim's privacy in this matter.
OKWU: Kobe Bryant is a public figure, a star, and we all think we know who he is. The fact is we don't really know, although he may be a great guy.
(on camera): What we do know is that we don't know who his accuser is. Naturally we'll all be curious and so it makes sense to some people that in the court of public opinion, as well as the courtroom, the accuser would also be on trial. Speculation is already rampant.
KAREN RUSSELL, TRIAL ATTORNEY: Here's a girl who is rumored to be star struck. She named her dog after Mariah Carey. She's auditioned for "American Idol."
BILLY HUNTER, NBA PLAYERS ASSOC.: When you're trying to get access to some athlete, especially if you're a female sooner or later you're going to find a way.
JIM HAMMER, SAN FRANCISCO ASSISTANT DA: The best lawyers will uncover anything she has ever done in her life.
KAREN COLEMAN, RAIN BOARD MEMBER: Oh, gosh, I would have to guess she would have to go into hiding.
OKWU (voice-over): Karen Coleman, a rape survivor, says anyone who accuses a public figure is at a disadvantage. COLEMAN: It's easier for us to believe that the person who has accused them is lying because then it doesn't destroy our image of them being a hero.
OKWU: William Kennedy Smith may not have been a hero but that name.
PATRICIA BOWMAN, ALLEGED RAPE VICTIM: He raped me.
OKWU: When Patricia Bowman accused him of raping her in 1991, there was much discussion about his great family, her single motherhood, the fact that she met him in a bar. Kennedy was acquitted. Mike Tyson wasn't but his accuser, Desiree Washington, faced accusations herself as a gold-digging beauty queen who must have implicitly consented to something since she was in his hotel room.
In 1987, Jennifer Levin was portrayed as aggressively sexual in Robert Chambers' so-called preppy murder trial.
ROBERT CHAMBERS, ACCUSED RAPIST: She seemed to be having a great time.
OKWU: Her mother would later say her daughter was murdered twice. It's likely no one wins here. Kobe Bryant, possibly an innocent man, has the right to a fair trial and that means the life of his accuser, possibly a victim, could be fair game.
Michael Okwu, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired July 20, 2003 - 18:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: L.A. Basketball star Kobe Bryant heads to court for a hearing on August 6th in Colorado. The NBA star was charged on Friday with the sexual assault of a 19-year- old Colorado woman. The 24-year-old denied the charge saying he was guilty only of adultery. If convicted, he faces four years to life but until then he's playing the game of his life on the court of public opinion. And, he's not the only one, speculation and reports are already popping up everywhere in the media about the woman who brought on the sexual accusation. CNN's Michael Okwu has more now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In almost the same breath that District Attorney Mark Hurlbert announced he'll be prosecuting NBA star Kobe Bryant, he warned the media not to focus on Bryant's accuser.
MARK HURLBERT, EAGLE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I ask you to respect the victim's privacy in this matter.
OKWU: Kobe Bryant is a public figure, a star, and we all think we know who he is. The fact is we don't really know, although he may be a great guy.
(on camera): What we do know is that we don't know who his accuser is. Naturally we'll all be curious and so it makes sense to some people that in the court of public opinion, as well as the courtroom, the accuser would also be on trial. Speculation is already rampant.
KAREN RUSSELL, TRIAL ATTORNEY: Here's a girl who is rumored to be star struck. She named her dog after Mariah Carey. She's auditioned for "American Idol."
BILLY HUNTER, NBA PLAYERS ASSOC.: When you're trying to get access to some athlete, especially if you're a female sooner or later you're going to find a way.
JIM HAMMER, SAN FRANCISCO ASSISTANT DA: The best lawyers will uncover anything she has ever done in her life.
KAREN COLEMAN, RAIN BOARD MEMBER: Oh, gosh, I would have to guess she would have to go into hiding.
OKWU (voice-over): Karen Coleman, a rape survivor, says anyone who accuses a public figure is at a disadvantage. COLEMAN: It's easier for us to believe that the person who has accused them is lying because then it doesn't destroy our image of them being a hero.
OKWU: William Kennedy Smith may not have been a hero but that name.
PATRICIA BOWMAN, ALLEGED RAPE VICTIM: He raped me.
OKWU: When Patricia Bowman accused him of raping her in 1991, there was much discussion about his great family, her single motherhood, the fact that she met him in a bar. Kennedy was acquitted. Mike Tyson wasn't but his accuser, Desiree Washington, faced accusations herself as a gold-digging beauty queen who must have implicitly consented to something since she was in his hotel room.
In 1987, Jennifer Levin was portrayed as aggressively sexual in Robert Chambers' so-called preppy murder trial.
ROBERT CHAMBERS, ACCUSED RAPIST: She seemed to be having a great time.
OKWU: Her mother would later say her daughter was murdered twice. It's likely no one wins here. Kobe Bryant, possibly an innocent man, has the right to a fair trial and that means the life of his accuser, possibly a victim, could be fair game.
Michael Okwu, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
