Gayle King has come under intense scrutiny after she repeatedly brought up Kobe Bryant’s 2003 sexual assault charge in an interview with WNBA legend, Lisa Leslie.
In the interview on “CBS This Morning”, the presenter was roasted after she asked Leslie if Bryant’s legacy is “complicated for her as a woman because of his sexual assault charge.”
In response, Leslie said, “It’s not complicated for me at all.”
“Even in the few times that we’ve been at a club at the same time, Kobe’s not the kind of guy, never been, like, ‘Lis’, go get that girl’, or ‘tell her’, or ‘send her this.’ I have other NBA friends that are like that. Kobe, he was never like that,” she said.
“I have never seen him as the kind of person that would do something to violate a woman or be aggressive in that way. That’s just not the person that I know,” Leslie added.
.@WNBA legend @LisaLeslie told @GayleKing that Kobe Bryant’s legacy is “not complicated” for her despite his 2003 rape accusation.
“I don’t think it’s something that we should keep hanging over his legacy.” https://t.co/qj6MVvOaqX pic.twitter.com/9qtVORobLO
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) February 4, 2020
Despite her response, King pressed on, insinuating that as Bryant’s friend she probably wouldn’t have seen that side of him.
“That’s possible. I just don’t believe that. I’m not saying things didn’t happen. I just don’t believe that things didn’t happen with force,” the 47-year-old said.
King further asked if it was fair to bring up Bryant’s sexual assault case since it was dismissed and he’s now gone.
“I think the media should be more respectful at this time,” Leslie answered. “If you had questions about it, you’ve had many years to ask him that. I don’t think that it’s something that we should keep hanging over his legacy.”
Bryant, described as one of the greatest of all time, was arrested in 2003 in connection with the alleged sexual assault filed by a 19-year-old hotel employee.
?what is this, wait somebody gotta help me understand why they keep doing this. ??♂️i apologize for my language in advance let’s talk about this. pic.twitter.com/zpKu58SQwc
— 50cent (@50cent) February 5, 2020
The woman, who worked in a hotel in Colorado accused Bryant of raping her in his hotel room, July 1. After filing the report with the police, Bryant was arrested but stated that he didn’t rape her, however, admitted there was a sexual encounter.
Following several court appointments, the case was dropped after his accuser failed to testify in the case.
The NBA Hall of Famer was one of the world’s most celebrated basketball icons, his death sent shock waves across the globe.
He died alongside his daughter, Gianni Bryant and seven others in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, January 26, 2020.
