Skip Bayless tells the Truth

[MastersofCombat]

D-Dogg brutha you are like a troll this series


Skip that was incredibly well thought out and precise. You hit the nail on the head and bucked the national Lakers ass kissing the rest of the media is doing. Good job for you for pointing out things no one else will.
Wished you wouldve also mentioned the technical Boris got when Kobe thugged him in the back. Game 1

 

[myrondizzo]

not to stir things up, but i constantly hear fans from opposing teams that say kobe is selfish, arrogant, etc., etc. can i ask what actions he does that make so many people think of him this way? i'm not trying to convince anyone that he isn't any of these things, just want to get other people's perspective on why they hate kobe so much. i hope i get some real responses rather than just "he's a rapist" or stupid things like that.

for me it's that he gets such special treatment. then as soon as a call doesnt get a call he sits and whines to the refs and he seldom gets T'd up for it. he is always playing his jersey over his head and showing up the refs with "the youre gonna call that on ME" looks. that and his coach wrote a book about childish he is/was.
i also think that its funny that in order for his team to win in the post season he had to NOT do what hes been doing all season pass the ball and get others involved. that shows me that he was not the MVP because he was holding the team back.

 

[D-Dogg]

MoC,

Do you have any reporters (serious question, since I don't follow your team) that completely dislike your team for whatever reason? I'm curious.

Skip has zero credibility to me. Not a shred.

 

[Cheesebeef]

It needed to be said. I don't care if it was Charlie Sheen saying it, it doesn't change the truthiness of it....

yeah - but problem is - freaking Noonan wins the damn Caddy tournament over D'nunzio when all the "miss it Danny NOONAN! Miss it Danny NOONAN!" hooting and hollering was all for naught.

Let's hope Raja can be a little more Ty Webb and a little less D'nunzio tomorrow - ah, screw that, we already have our Ty Webb - he's Steve Freaking Nash - be the ball Steve! Be the ball!

 

[Renz]

for me it's that he gets such special treatment. then as soon as a call doesnt get a call he sits and whines to the refs and he seldom gets T'd up for it.

That's not true. Kobe gets technicals all the time for talking to the refs. All the time.

 

[Cheesebeef]

That's not true. Kobe gets technicals all the time for talking to the refs. All the time.

tis true - guy was second in the league in T's this year.

He is a bit of a bitch though. Nails as a player, really despciable human though IMO for various reasons.

 

[bko32]

for me it's that he gets such special treatment. then as soon as a call doesnt get a call he sits and whines to the refs and he seldom gets T'd up for it. he is always playing his jersey over his head and showing up the refs with "the youre gonna call that on ME" looks. that and his coach wrote a book about childish he is/was.
i also think that its funny that in order for his team to win in the post season he had to NOT do what hes been doing all season pass the ball and get others involved. that shows me that he was not the MVP because he was holding the team back.

thanks for responding. i agree he whines and complains, but so do lots of other players. he does get t'd up quite a bit though for complaining. i think he had 14 or 15 t's during the regular season, not far behind rasheed wallace. pulling his jersey over his head is annoying me too. i don't recall him doing it other than this series but it still is annoying. i expect non-laker fans to dislike/hate kobe, but i am constantly surprised by the amount of flak that he gets compared to other players like marbury, vince carter, sprewell, etc.

 

[bko32]

He is a bit of a bitch though. Nails as a player, really despciable human though IMO for various reasons.

just curious, would you mind giving me some of those reasons?

 

[Evil Ash]

That's not true. Kobe gets technicals all the time for talking to the refs. All the time.

2nd most in the league this year and probably deserved more. Since he's a superstar he gets away with a lot of stuff that he shouldn't.

Such is the way with the league right now

 

[Cheesebeef]

just curious, would you mind giving me some of those reasons?

A couple insights into character from my opinion:

1) you never rat another guy out to the freaking police - brother code. Jesus Christ - just because you're in trouble means you could possibly RUIN someone else' life? Sounds like someone who thinks of one person and one person only - KOBE.

2) getting on Karl Malone for some misconstrued "comments" made to Vanessa. Saying he could never forgive him - funny coming from a guy who was begging for EVERYONE'S forgiveness when he may have RAPED a woman and at least cheated on his wife and embarassed his entire family and orgnaization... but, yeah, I guess it's cool to hold a grudge because of a miscommunication..., again - pretty pathetic, focussing on one person and one person only... oh yeah... his name is KOBE.

3) The fact that I DO believe that Kobe believes he is above everybody - Phil talked about it in his book, he's never been even clsoe to friends with any of his teamates - you NEVER saw that with MJ - young or old - even though the man WAS above everyone else. The guy was able to be part of the guys, gambling, getting drunk, you know - being a normal person - something that just doesn't seem to enter Kobe's hemisphere... again - only one person matters... KOBE.

That about sums it up - from everything we've read about him, to the way he interacts with his guys on the court, apparently off court and well, behind bars, it adds up to a pretty ugly picture of a human being that is so self-absorbed that it makes Tom Cruise look like Mother Freaking Theresa.

It also expalins why he's so damn good - when you think that much about yourslef and nothing else, you'll drive yourself to be the absolute best - so it goes both ways, I guess - positives and minuses - although so far in his solo act, the minuses outweigh the positives... I hope that lasts cause he's scary on the court.

 

[Goldfield]

The article is correct about alot of those calls NEEDED to be made. But Raja def. should of been suspended. It was a bad foul, one that was probably deserved. And somthing I think the Suns might of needed to give them an injection of tuffness from their tuffiest player.

Bring on game 7

 

[elindholm]

The guy was able to be part of the guys, gambling, getting drunk

I don't want to get caught up in this argument, but I do find it pretty funny that you cite gambling and getting drunk as examples of good character.

 

[myrondizzo]

That's not true. Kobe gets technicals all the time for talking to the refs. All the time.

but how many time was he actually ejected? my guess is not many. they give him a T to try to get him to shut up but they know (as does he) that they cant kick him out for whining. so he just keeps doing it.
besides you made my point he's whiny and he doesnt have the right to be because he gets sooooooo many phantam calls.

 

[Cheesebeef]

¿?Y?Llindholm]The guy was able to be part of the guys, gambling, getting drunk

I don't want to get caught up in this argument, but I do find it pretty funny that you cite gambling and getting drunk as examples of good character.[/QUOTE]

I cite being WITH THE GUYS actually DOING THINGS, building comraderie as parts of having good character, not necessarily the actions - that's not the emphasis. But way to take it completely out of context there eric!

DB!

 

[gdiddy]

That article hit the nail right on the head.

This is why as a Suns fan, I'm not ashamed of what Raja did. A kid? Who the hell does Kobe thing he is? You don't talk about someone like that, especially when they're older than you! That's why Bell said he's a pompous ass!

There is nothing to admire about Kobe the person. Kobe the player is great, but on a personal basis he's deplorable. To compare him over Steve Nash for the MVP illustrates the magnitude of ignorance amongst people. Steve Nash is the most admirable athlete that has played this game. He's not perfect, but he's definately maintained his poise and maintained the respect of the game and the league even after the disgusting highway robbery that occurred in game 4.

And he did that because he is, quite simple, a true team leader.

 

[stompg]

not to stir things up, but i constantly hear fans from opposing teams that say kobe is selfish, arrogant, etc., etc. can i ask what actions he does that make so many people think of him this way? i'm not trying to convince anyone that he isn't any of these things, just want to get other people's perspective on why they hate kobe so much. i hope i get some real responses rather than just "he's a rapist" or stupid things like that.

I can give you one very specific example of how he is a selfish person. And it does have to do with the alleged rape incident. Now whether Kobe actually raped that woman is irrelevant to this conversation. The fact is that whether he raped her or not he still committed adultery. In a relationship there isn't one single thing that you can do that is more selfish. He showed complete disregard for any promise that he may have made to his wife and did what he wanted. The epitome of narcissistic and selfish behavior.

Say what you want about his assists on the court or him working within the basketball system. I've already conceded the point that Kobe is an extraordinary basketball player, we're talking about Kobe the individual. This action indicates what his true character is and to be completely honest, regardless of Kobe the basketball player, the man isn't worth the time we're spending discussing him.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

I can give you one very specific example of how he is a selfish person. And it does have to do with the alleged rape incident. Now whether Kobe actually raped that woman is irrelevant to this conversation. The fact is that whether he raped her or not he still committed adultery. In a relationship there isn't one single thing that you can do that is more selfish. He showed complete disregard for any promise that he may have made to his wife and did what he wanted. The epitome of narcissistic and selfish behavior.

Say what you want about his assists on the court or him working within the basketball system. I've already conceded the point that Kobe is an extraordinary basketball player, we're talking about Kobe the individual. This action indicates what his true character is and to be completely honest, regardless of Kobe the basketball player, the man isn't worth the time we're spending discussing him.

Then let's not discuss anyone in the NBA as probably 90% of NBA players screw around on the spouses. I probably wouldn't like Kobe as a person (although I don't want to say that for sure because I don't know the guy), but I've learned to separate what a player does on the court/field and what he does off the court/field. And he's an unbeleivablly skilled and determined basketball player who's very fun to watch regardless of uniform.

Not to bring up another subject, but it's going to be very interesting what Kobe's legacy is going to be. He's already in the Hall of Fame and well on his way to making those Top 50 lists, but since the Colorado thing it's become obvious he will never match MJ or Magic's popularity outside of LA regardless of future performance (which is someowhat hypocritical in my opinion as both MJs were habitual adulterers). Kobe just comes off as one those extremely talented yet extremely flawed individuals that would make for a great episode of ESPN Sportscentury.

 

[Divide Et Impera]

Then let's not discuss anyone in the NBA as probably 90% of NBA players screw around on the spouses.

Unless you count a strap-on and role reversing, Doug Christie doesn't cheat on his wife....

 

[D-Dogg]

Unless you count a strap-on and role reversing, Doug Christie doesn't cheat on his wife....

Probably true. But I didn't need that mental image, Seeds. Thanks a lot.

 

[bko32]

I can give you one very specific example of how he is a selfish person. And it does have to do with the alleged rape incident. Now whether Kobe actually raped that woman is irrelevant to this conversation. The fact is that whether he raped her or not he still committed adultery. In a relationship there isn't one single thing that you can do that is more selfish. He showed complete disregard for any promise that he may have made to his wife and did what he wanted. The epitome of narcissistic and selfish behavior.

i do not condone him committing adultery. no matter his reasoning for doing it, adultery is wrong. however, there are other players who have committed adultery as well, such as jodan, magic, shawn kemp, etc., yet the hatred for those players don't compare to the hatred towards kobe. i just don't get the extreme hatred towards kobe for the reasons you give, yet others who have done the same things as kobe don't receive the animosity that he gets.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Unless you count a strap-on and role reversing, Doug Christie doesn't cheat on his wife....

That's hilarious. Perverted, but hilarious.

 

[stompg]

Then let's not discuss anyone in the NBA as probably 90% of NBA players screw around on the spouses. I probably wouldn't like Kobe as a person (although I don't want to say that for sure because I don't know the guy), but I've learned to separate what a player does on the court/field and what he does off the court/field. And he's an unbeleivablly skilled and determined basketball player who's very fun to watch regardless of uniform.

I think you need to read my original post on this thread. I've already said that Kobe is a phenomenal basketball player. The idea was brought up (or so it seemed to me) that disliking Kobe was just blind hate. That is simply not true. Kobe has given most that dislike him every reason to dislike him. Then I was asked the reasoning behind why I think he is selfish and I explained it. The remark about not being worth our discussion time was meant to prove the level of disgust that I have for the man as an individual. In my mind he is a despicable human being.

If you feel that 90% of players screw around on their spouses and that's OK with you, then that is your perogative. I personally do not feel that it is OK. I would feel the same way if it were Steve Nash or Amare Stoudemire. I would also feel the same way if it were one of my best friends. What has happened to the world when we can say "well, 90% of the league does it"?

I will always have admiration for Kobe's skills as an athlete. But I doubt that I will ever respect Kobe the man.

 

[Cheesebeef]

i do not condone him committing adultery. no matter his reasoning for doing it, adultery is wrong. however, there are other players who have committed adultery as well, such as jodan, magic, shawn kemp, etc., yet the hatred for those players don't compare to the hatred towards kobe. i just don't get the extreme hatred towards kobe for the reasons you give, yet others who have done the same things as kobe don't receive the animosity that he gets.

what about the reasons I gave? None of them had to do with the actual act of adultery - unfortunately it was how he handled everything afterward and his failure to learn anythign from the experience which colors people's views of him - that and the fact that he basically puts himself on a pedestal above his teamates and even his parents at times.

To dislike the guy because of the adultery thing is kind of bush IMO, considering what the rest of the league and, well, human population is like in general - it really has no bearing on what I think of him as the person.

 

[stompg]

i do not condone him committing adultery. no matter his reasoning for doing it, adultery is wrong. however, there are other players who have committed adultery as well, such as jodan, magic, shawn kemp, etc., yet the hatred for those players don't compare to the hatred towards kobe. i just don't get the extreme hatred towards kobe for the reasons you give, yet others who have done the same things as kobe don't receive the animosity that he gets.

I can't speak to what everyone else in the world feels for those other athletes. But I can speculate if that's what you want.

Both Jordan and Magic had many other things working for them. They were charismatic, affable, and seemed approachable. They had redeeming characteristics to their personality. From my point of view, the only redeeming characteristic that Kobe has is that he is an amazing basketball player. He doesn't seem affable, his charisma is sorely lacking, and he certainly doesn't seem approachable.

And as to Shawn Kemp, you can't really compare there. Jordan, Magic, and yes Kobe are all Hall of Fame type players that are the elite of their generation. Shawn Kemp probably won't be remembered in another decade.

Again, this is all speculation and deductive reasoning on my part. Who knows what the true answer is.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

If you feel that 90% of players screw around on their spouses and that's OK with you, then that is your perogative. I personally do not feel that it is OK. I would feel the same way if it were Steve Nash or Amare Stoudemire. I would also feel the same way if it were one of my best friends. What has happened to the world when we can say "well, 90% of the league does it"?

I never justified the action, but it is a widespread issue among professional athletes and celebrities in general. My point is that my expectations for those I cheer for are confined to what they do in between the lines and not what they choose to do with consenting adults outside of them. I am many things, but I'm certainly not the morality police and as long as they're playing a game and not dating my sister then who am I to judge?