Ashon Crawley: Image is nothing for Kobe Bryant

Is it ironic that Kobe Bryant once espoused the words "image is nothing, thirst is everything" for Sprite commercials over the television and radio airwaves? Today, Bryant is in the middle of a mess, a mess of image and thirst (desire). First, let us deal with the image of Bryant, then the thirst of Bryant.

We all, by this point, have heard a lot about the pristine image of Kobe Bryant, that is, unless you are from the Philadelphia region. If you are from Philadelphia, and a 76ers fan, you are probably more used to hearing stories about his smug attitude and his cocky persona. But overall, there was still a cleanliness about Bryant, a masculine, articulate black guy that is intelligent. In fact, many of the times Bryant is mentioned in newspapers, television and other media outlets pre-June 30, 2003, these two words, "articulate/intelligent" were used to characterize him.

His image is that of a family man. Married at a young age, father at a young age. Indeed, Kobe does things the "right way." Purportedly, he did not even hang out with the crew after b-ball games but opted to stay in the hotel and play video games.

But as Sprite prophetically uttered, image is NOTHING. We all think we "know" celebrities because of what we see on television, what we read in magazines and newspapers and the like. We assume that our celebrities can be guilty of no wrong-doing, especially if it is out of character for their "image." As well, we believe we know friends and coworkers because we see them on a consistent basis. Is it possible that the "image" that Bryant gave is all a contrived, conceived deception?

Rather, THIRST is everything. I am a religious man and I believe that what is within a man or woman will find its way to the forefront eventually. A wise prophet once implied that what a person thinks is what he or she really is. Essentially this idea is the forerunner for the Sprite ad about image and thirst. But, should Kobe be at fault for creating an image that is not necessarily true? Regardless of if the victim's alleged claims are true or not, the pristine, non-adulterous family man image, as Bryant has admitted, is not the truth. Indeed, Kobe had a desire for someone other than his wife and fulfilled this desire.

It is time for married people to behave accordingly. If you are married, regardless of who throws what at you, you are still supposed to honor your vows, both civil and sacred.

This situation does not speak well for either the victim or Bryant. Neither of them are close acquaintances and to have a sexual relationship on a whim is not physically, emotionally or mentally healthy or safe. This ordeal will have many adverse affects and the faulty image being dismissed will be the very beginning of his troubles.

Yet, none of us should point accusatory fingers. We all have an image and a thirst, but we should thirst after righteous things, because if we do our image will be consistent. If we wear a mask that is different from our actual desire, it will be revealed in due course.

This case should not be about blackness or whiteness, although the racial tension and history will play a role in how the public will view the findings. This case should not be about a woman's word against a man's word. As well, it is not fair to dig up her past sexual history, the fact that she tried to commit suicide or the fact that she was a contestant on American Idol. These are all inconsequential to this trial and none of these things impairs her ability to know what happened on that evening.

Also, it should not be the public's chance to castigate a black male or all black males based on this occurrence. This will not bode well for the stereotype of the black male fascination with the white female body. Still, we should not make judgment calls on an entire group of people based on senseless acts of a few.

However, we should demand justice, nothing more, nothing less. And when I suggest we seek justice, I do not mean justice for whites or justice for blacks. This large mistake was made during the OJ Simpson debacle. Blacks generally saw OJ winning the trial as justice for blacks regardless of the fact that he probably did commit the crimes. Whites generally felt justice was not done because they felt he committed the crime, yet there are far fewer outcries from whites about the many black men that are currently wrongfully imprisoned.

How is image and thirst related to justice? Because we feel that justice is based on images. If things appear to be fine, we do not question the system. We commonly do not thirst after true justice, only the appearance of it. But we find time and time again that the image of justice is nothing. We recognize this truth when we create charter schools in urban areas but do not fix the overall funding models for public education and test scores of minorities continue to lag behind their white counterparts. If we thirst for justice, the image will be consistent. Let us thirst for justice! Ashon Crawley is a 2003 graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences.

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