This week it was announced that Kobe Bryant, star of the Los Angeles Lakers, is leading the nation in All-Star votes. Bryant has over 722,000 votes thus far and is on his way to once again becoming America's favorite basketball player (well, he might already be there). He is more popular than his nemesis, LeBron James, who lost a bulk of his public support after improperly orchestrating his move to Miami. At the same time, the criticism of James was inherently unfair.

What's interesting about LeBron vs. Kobe is that one guy has always been a team player and stayed out of trouble (LeBron). The other one (Kobe) was accused of rape just a few years ago and was also once known as a prima donna who wouldn't pass the ball to anyone other than himself. My oh my how times have changed.


The point of clarity for me regarding just how far Kobe's career has come since the rape allegations seven years ago was when I saw Bryant in the White House cheesing and talking smack with President Barack Obama. "Wow," I thought. "The President of the United States has no problem being photographed next to an accused rapist."

This is not to say that I disagree with President Obama's decision to take a picture with Bryant, I probably would too. It is also not to say that I believe Kobe raped anyone, since athletes who like to "get around" are easy targets for predatory women. But understanding just how careful the president has been when it comes to being associated with the wrong people and with black men (he hasn't said the words "black man" in public at all this year, according to my count), I was stunned that he felt so comfortable spending time with Bryant on such a large stage. Had Kobe wanted to hang out in the White House five years ago, the president would surely have been busy that day.

Kobe's comeback has been a beautiful thing to watch. Both he and Michael Vick have gone down that ugly path only preserved for the black athlete in America. It is the path in which a public backlash might spontaneously combust like a forest fire being fueled by racism and America's long history of hatred of African American men. On this path, mountains of devastation are created out of molehills of common mistakes. The margin of error for the black male in America is incredibly small and we've long been considered less than human.

Kobe Bryant has gone from the depths of embarrassment to becoming the darling of Madison Avenue. Last year, he was in the top five highest paid athletes in the world. He has five NBA titles under his belt while being young enough to bag at least a couple more. He has helped rebuild the Lakers from the team with a gaping hole in the middle (after losing Shaq) into a powerful collection of amazing players with great synergy feeding off the talent and experience that Bryant brings to the table.

Both Michael Vick and Tiger Woods can learn from Kobe's rise. Although I was saddened by Bryant's decision to cheat on his wife with a woman he'd only known for a few minutes (we should have learned something from Magic Johnson), I was proud to see him use discipline, focus and determination to rebuild his life instead of choosing to self-destruct. I have a great deal of respect for Kobe Bryant.



Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.