Kobe Bryant: The Game of His Life Book

Well. It's interesting that Jennifer Stevens is omitted from the author category here. Even if it is a pen name, it's one that was used to get information, and an interesting "safe" alias choice, so it deserves a credit nonetheless. Perhaps the cover is "enough"? And "enough" is a good jumpoff for this book in general. I put it on hold months ago, along with some other books about Kobe's basketball legacy, because I had just come around to him when he made his All-Star speech here his retirement year. He never resonated with me in the prime of his playing years, but then again-neither did Jordan or LeBron. (LBJ a bit more because of his social impact and also because he is now better than Jordan). So I called it in when Kobe passed, because legacy is complicated. It's absolutely tragic that he died with his daughter and her teammate/her family. It's a huge loss that his influence not only on her life but on women's sports went down in that helicopter. And of course, this part of his legacy has been glossed over, but what about Derek Rose? Boogie Cousins? Mike Bibby? Isaiah Thomas? (the Knicks keep finding jobs for him, including managing the WNBA team when he has been accused of harassing a female employee at MSG) Porzingis? The list goes on and on. I'm not saying that it's right, because it's not, but let's have some equal opportunity of bullshit-if you're going to sweep all this mediocre under the rug, then why not (also) celebrate that Kobe seemed to rise above this and contribute to generational change? But back to this book, which feels a bit sensational and confusing. We get many versions of the event, some of them viscerally detailed and no evidence to corroborate or disprove any of it, get left on a suggestive cliffhanger, and are absolutely certain that Kobe Bryant's legal team was horrible (and successful). The sexist and victim-blaming nature of the actions taken against the accuser, even in the age before social media, reads as a cautionary tale against justice and speaking out, and the tabloid media can continue to eat all the dicks.