Say it Ain't So, Kobe!

This has gotta be one of the most stunning developments in recent sports memory. Kobe Bryant a rapist? Did he actually do it, or is this the product of some money-grabbin', playa-hatin' smear campaign? Regardless of his guilt or innocence, however, the allegations are serious enough to permanently tarnish his golden boy image. We're not talking about corked bats or steroids here. We're not talking about DUI one night. We're talking about rape. You can't brush that off to "well, I made a mistake one night, but I've learned my lesson and it won't happen again". The public doesn't give second chances when it comes to rape. Think about sports scandals such as Pete Rose or Sammy Sosa -- solid citizens who made a mistake -- or even Allen Iverson -- a not so solid citizen with homophobic rap lyrics -- and multiply them by 1000. We're now down to the level of Mike Tyson. Kobe Bryant and Mike Tyson in the same sentence. Who would have thought that possible?

I've never been a huge Kobe fan, but he's the best player in the game, and one of the league's gentlemen and class acts. Millions of fans around the globe must have woken up this morning and scratched their heads at this story. We all hope it isn't true, but Kobe's got some explaining to do. And his days as basketball's Air Apparent are in serious jeopardy.