uh, kobe didn't rape that woman.
Kobe's accuser, after being attacked by Kobe's lawyers in every possible way (including giving her name to the press, which was beyond disgusting), basically said that she couldn't take any more, and declined to go on with the case. Instead, she filed a civil suit against him for rape, and he ended up paying her what was probably a very large (but undisclosed) amount of money to settle the case. As part of the settlement, Kobe had to issue a statement which said that, while he considered it to have been consensual, she "did not and does not view this incident the same." What does Kobe think "no" means?!?
Kobe may have gotten an OJ sort of outcome, fighting small-town Colorado DAs with $500/hr. defense lawyers, but I'll never be convinced of his innocence. The rules say he can't be banned from the NBA because he wasn't convicted, fine. But I'll always think he's scum.