Redemption vs. #MeToo

How Journalists Addressed Kobe Bryant’s Rape Case in Crafting His Memory

Bibliographic Data

ID12909753
AuthorsPatrick Walters (0000-0003-2937-9571, Kutztown University, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume17
Issue9
Pages1997-2014
Publication date2021-12-24
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournalism Practice (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1751-2786 • E-ISSN: 1751-2794
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17512786.2021.2021103
OpenAlexW4200487120
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited50

This paper examines how journalists addressed Kobe Bryant’s 2003 rape case as they constructed the basketball star’s memory through coverage of his death. Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26, 2020, was accused of raping a hotel clerk in Colorado; charges were dropped when the woman refused to testify, but the parties reached a civil settlement. This textual analysis examines 488 news stories about Bryant’s death, content produced by 18 U.S. news organizations (12 newspapers, two magazines, three online-only publications and a cable broadcast outlet) between Jan. 26 and Oct. 31, 2020. It finds that coverage created a field of discourse that mainly celebrated Bryant for his athletic greatness, as a family man, cultural icon and supporter of women’s basketball. The paper argues that, despite the influence of social media and the #MeToo movement, journalists continue to oversimplify and cleanse the narratives of famous men with problematic pasts. The paper calls on journalists to draw from feminist theory and utilize triangulated reporting methods to incorporate marginalized viewpoints when memorializing famous men with problematic pasts

Art · Basketball · Criminology · Journalism · Literature · Media studies · Narrative · Newspaper · Police brutality · Political science · Sociology · History · Law · Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts · Sports, Gender, and Society

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