Athletic Injustice

In case you've been living under a rock, or maybe in Collins dormitory, Kobe Bryant, star shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers, scored 81 points Sunday night. It was the most points scored in a game since Wilt Chamberlain shot for 100 points in March 1962 against the New York Knicks.\nWhile Wilt dominated the opposition with his size (and without a 3-point line), Kobe dominates the league with his athleticism. And I'll take Kobe's athleticism over Wilt's size any day of the week, and twice on Sunday. \nBut that shouldn't have been the story in Monday's papers. Nor should the story have been about the NFL playoffs. Instead, what should have been reported was that Seattle Seahawks offensive lineman Sean Locklear played in Sunday's victory over the Panthers. \nAccording to a Jan. 16 Sporting News article, a few hours after Seattle defeated Washington, Locklear went to Belltown Billiards with friends where he grew angry with his girlfriend for dancing with another man. Locklear proceeded to argue, took two of his 300-pound arms and wrapped them around his girlfriend's neck. The former North Carolina State tackle contests that he never laid a finger on her. Yet, three witnesses who initially summoned police said they saw Locklear use both hands and the police report cited visible bruise marks around the girlfriend's neck and chest, according to the article.\nWhat was Locklear's punishment, you ask? He got to play in the NFC Championship game against the Panthers and is currently on his way to Detroit to play in Super Bowl XL. \nThis treatment is hardly new for athletes, both active and retired. \nIn 1996, former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver and current ESPN analyst Michael Irvin plead no contest to felony cocaine possession in exchange for probation and a $10,000 fine. Late last November, Irvin was pulled over for speeding and in his car police found a marijuana pipe, according to a Nov. 29 www.espn.com article. Making the lamest excuse since "The dog ate my homework," Irvin told police that the pipe belonged to a friend of his and that he planned on throwing it away, but forgot. OK - forgetting that there is a marijuana pipe in your car is like ignoring a dead body in your trunk. \nWhat was Irvin's punishment, you ask? After taking that weekend off from his duties at ESPN, Irvin returned to the small screen for Monday Night Football and he, too, is on his way to Detroit to cover Super Bowl XL for ESPN. \nAnd so the stories come full circle back to Kobe. In July 2003, Kobe was charged with sexual assault in Eagle County, Colo. It was an arrest that would award the three-time NBA Champion a mug shot on the cover of Sports Illustrated. The court case ran for 14 months until Kobe's accuser dropped the charges. \nThe lesson here, my fellow Hoosiers, is that sport forgives all. After the Sports Illustrated cover, Kobe lost all but one of his endorsement deals: Nike. On Monday morning, his name was wetting the lips of every water cooler Waldo who claimed he was the greatest the game had ever seen. Locklear lied and is forgiven when lining up against the Panthers offense. Irvin will earn an early entrance into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.\nMeanwhile, I am sick of this. You can find me hibernating in Collins for the winter. Hey -- it beats a rock.