ducks
08-12-2003, 11:59 AM
August 10, 2003
Bryant's Every Move Now Under Scrutiny
Click to Enlarge
Bryant is under the public eye everywhere he goes.
AP photo
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Mike Penner LA Times-Washington Post News Service
This was Kobe Bryant's trail of two cities, an entrance and an exit strategy that appeared to have been borrowed from the same playbook.
With each step he took, the young crowd cheered loudly and supportively. He held the hand of a woman very important to his life and public image. He wore a uniform carefully selected for the occasion, specifically tailored for his audience.
In Eagle, Colo., Bryant wore the solemn expression of a man about to stand before a judge.
In Los Angeles, Bryant flashed the victory sign, and a smile that outshined the jewelry banging around his neck and wrist.
In Eagle, Bryant took the hand of his attorney, Pamela Mackey, and helped her out of the sports utility vehicle that had carried them to their afternoon appointment.
In Los Angeles, Bryant clutched the hand of his wife Vanessa, making sure to adorn it with a kiss while dozens of cameras captured every move.
In Eagle, Bryant was outfitted in a cream-colored suit with no tie, conservative yet casual.
In Los Angeles, Bryant was suited up in jeans and a black Muhammad Ali T-shirt, playing on the image of an older generation's icon with a cause.
In Eagle, Bryant received the date for the preliminary hearing in his sexual assault case.
In Los Angeles, Bryant received the trophy for Favorite Male Athlete at the Teen Choice Awards.
Every public appearance now matters greatly for Bryant, be it a Colorado courtroom last or the Universal Amphitheatre. On television Wednesday, you could watch the images overlap - with Fox following the live coverage of Bryant's court appearance with a taped telecast of the Teen Choice Awards. In between, ESPN Classic aired a one-hour documentary on Bryant, during which the Laker star was quoted, long before his July arrest, on the importance of image control.
"I think it's just a maturation process of understanding how they want you perceived as opposed to how you really are as a person," Bryant said. "It's become very valuable for me to make sure that the message being communicated out there to the consumers is the person that I actually am." It's a telling statement, providing insight into the choreography of Bryant's public life during the last six weeks.
Days before he was formally charged with sexual assault, Bryant and his wife attended the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles, a very long, very expensive photo op where the many of the biggest names in sports and entertainment gather annually to push agendas and enhance reputations.
Hours after the announcement of those charges, Bryant and his wife again were in front of the cameras, with Bryant adopting a stance both defiant and apologetic, designed to elicit maximum sympathy as he visibly squirmed and struggled with his "mistake of adultery."
And the weekend before his first court appearance in Colorado, Bryant and his wife turned out at the Teen Choice Awards, a strategic gamble, considering the fodder he had already handed late-night comics with his reported purchase of the $4-million diamond ring for Vanessa.
Jay Leno swung from the heels during his Tuesday night show.
"Kobe Bryant and his wife attended Saturday's Teen Choice Awards here in Los Angeles," Leno said. "Is that a good idea? Wasn't it Kobe's choice with a teen that got him into trouble in the first place?"
For Bryant, the landscape has changed. During the ESPN Classic documentary, sportscaster Jim Gray, a friend of Bryant's, described the defendant as someone "who now finds his entire life, his well being, now in the hands of a judge, prosecutors, DAs, lawyers and ultimately a jury of 12 people. It's totally out of his control. Kobe's always used to being in control. And now that's relinquished."
But does Bryant believe that? His determination to maintain some control, as much as he can still manage, helps explain his decision to attend the Teen Choice Awards, regardless of the potential punch-line fallout.
The awards show was a chance to play to the crowd, to hear more applause, to get the message out to a friendly, receptive audience.
On stage, clutching the multicolored surfboard that served as his trophy, Bryant interrupted the cheering to thank his wife and "everybody out there for supporting me. You know, we're fighting some dark clouds right now. But through God's will, the sun will rise and shine again."
More applause.
Bryant thanked the kids again: "thanks for your support, thanks for your prayers."
There was more of the same outside the Eagle courthouse Wednesday. Throngs of young fans, many of them wearing No. 8 Laker jerseys, cheered Bryant as he entered and exited the building. Some used a black marker to scrawl "Kobe Is Innocent" across their foreheads.
One youngster, maybe 10 years old, was asked by an "Access Hollywood" reporter if he thought Bryant was innocent. The boy rubbed his fingers together, as if he had cash in his hands, and said, Ah, the accuser just wants Bryant's money.
Inside, Bryant caught a glimpse of the future. The stark gray walls of the courtroom. The stern countenance of the judge. The reporters tracking his every gesture, his every word.
Inside those walls, calculation and choreography will continue to be key Bryant strategies. There, he and his lawyers will again try to control the message being communicated. Still unknown, and out of his control, is whether the consumers sitting the jury box will buy it.
scoop (http://www.vaildaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030810/NEWS/308100102)
Bryant's Every Move Now Under Scrutiny
Click to Enlarge
Bryant is under the public eye everywhere he goes.
AP photo
                        var zflag_nid="278"; var zflag_cid="57"; var zflag_sid="3"; var zflag_width="300"; var zflag_height="250"; var zflag_sz="9";
                       
Mike Penner LA Times-Washington Post News Service
This was Kobe Bryant's trail of two cities, an entrance and an exit strategy that appeared to have been borrowed from the same playbook.
With each step he took, the young crowd cheered loudly and supportively. He held the hand of a woman very important to his life and public image. He wore a uniform carefully selected for the occasion, specifically tailored for his audience.
In Eagle, Colo., Bryant wore the solemn expression of a man about to stand before a judge.
In Los Angeles, Bryant flashed the victory sign, and a smile that outshined the jewelry banging around his neck and wrist.
In Eagle, Bryant took the hand of his attorney, Pamela Mackey, and helped her out of the sports utility vehicle that had carried them to their afternoon appointment.
In Los Angeles, Bryant clutched the hand of his wife Vanessa, making sure to adorn it with a kiss while dozens of cameras captured every move.
In Eagle, Bryant was outfitted in a cream-colored suit with no tie, conservative yet casual.
In Los Angeles, Bryant was suited up in jeans and a black Muhammad Ali T-shirt, playing on the image of an older generation's icon with a cause.
In Eagle, Bryant received the date for the preliminary hearing in his sexual assault case.
In Los Angeles, Bryant received the trophy for Favorite Male Athlete at the Teen Choice Awards.
Every public appearance now matters greatly for Bryant, be it a Colorado courtroom last or the Universal Amphitheatre. On television Wednesday, you could watch the images overlap - with Fox following the live coverage of Bryant's court appearance with a taped telecast of the Teen Choice Awards. In between, ESPN Classic aired a one-hour documentary on Bryant, during which the Laker star was quoted, long before his July arrest, on the importance of image control.
"I think it's just a maturation process of understanding how they want you perceived as opposed to how you really are as a person," Bryant said. "It's become very valuable for me to make sure that the message being communicated out there to the consumers is the person that I actually am." It's a telling statement, providing insight into the choreography of Bryant's public life during the last six weeks.
Days before he was formally charged with sexual assault, Bryant and his wife attended the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles, a very long, very expensive photo op where the many of the biggest names in sports and entertainment gather annually to push agendas and enhance reputations.
Hours after the announcement of those charges, Bryant and his wife again were in front of the cameras, with Bryant adopting a stance both defiant and apologetic, designed to elicit maximum sympathy as he visibly squirmed and struggled with his "mistake of adultery."
And the weekend before his first court appearance in Colorado, Bryant and his wife turned out at the Teen Choice Awards, a strategic gamble, considering the fodder he had already handed late-night comics with his reported purchase of the $4-million diamond ring for Vanessa.
Jay Leno swung from the heels during his Tuesday night show.
"Kobe Bryant and his wife attended Saturday's Teen Choice Awards here in Los Angeles," Leno said. "Is that a good idea? Wasn't it Kobe's choice with a teen that got him into trouble in the first place?"
For Bryant, the landscape has changed. During the ESPN Classic documentary, sportscaster Jim Gray, a friend of Bryant's, described the defendant as someone "who now finds his entire life, his well being, now in the hands of a judge, prosecutors, DAs, lawyers and ultimately a jury of 12 people. It's totally out of his control. Kobe's always used to being in control. And now that's relinquished."
But does Bryant believe that? His determination to maintain some control, as much as he can still manage, helps explain his decision to attend the Teen Choice Awards, regardless of the potential punch-line fallout.
The awards show was a chance to play to the crowd, to hear more applause, to get the message out to a friendly, receptive audience.
On stage, clutching the multicolored surfboard that served as his trophy, Bryant interrupted the cheering to thank his wife and "everybody out there for supporting me. You know, we're fighting some dark clouds right now. But through God's will, the sun will rise and shine again."
More applause.
Bryant thanked the kids again: "thanks for your support, thanks for your prayers."
There was more of the same outside the Eagle courthouse Wednesday. Throngs of young fans, many of them wearing No. 8 Laker jerseys, cheered Bryant as he entered and exited the building. Some used a black marker to scrawl "Kobe Is Innocent" across their foreheads.
One youngster, maybe 10 years old, was asked by an "Access Hollywood" reporter if he thought Bryant was innocent. The boy rubbed his fingers together, as if he had cash in his hands, and said, Ah, the accuser just wants Bryant's money.
Inside, Bryant caught a glimpse of the future. The stark gray walls of the courtroom. The stern countenance of the judge. The reporters tracking his every gesture, his every word.
Inside those walls, calculation and choreography will continue to be key Bryant strategies. There, he and his lawyers will again try to control the message being communicated. Still unknown, and out of his control, is whether the consumers sitting the jury box will buy it.
scoop (http://www.vaildaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030810/NEWS/308100102)