Kobe Bryant Has Everything Except Common Sense

Kobe Bryant Has Everything Except Common Sense

Kobe Bryant's moral crime with the serious legal ramifications attached has compelled me to study old notebooks and randomly quiz cops.

Unfortunately, I have experience covering sexual assault cases. I sat in a Seattle courtroom when then-Sonics forward Ruben Patterson pleaded guilty to third-degree attempted rape in 2001. He received 15 days in jail, fines and was required to register as a sex offender in Washington.

The off-court foibles of athletes can be maddening. However, the NBA is not full of wayward thugs as ABC's World News Tonight attempted to portray last week. Even when you take a collective look at the summer problems associated with NBA players, you're talking about barely 1 percent of a league that employs more than 400 players.

Sex crimes, drugs and violence aren't problems inherent to today's NBA.