Kobe Bryant: Article About His Fight w/ Reggie Miller in 2002
NYPat
http://www.bupipedream.com/020305/sports/s3.html
Bryant says he deserved suspension; calls Miller a fool
Mark Heisler - Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES - On Day 3 of his latest controversy, Kobe Bryant played "Meet
the Press."
"What do y'all want?" he said, grinning, as a band of people bearing tape
recorders and TV cameras encircled him Monday.
"I might sucker-punch all of y'all."
Sporting a 1-inch-long scratch on his left cheek - "It's like a little baby
scratch." - he refused to say what he and Reggie Miller had argued about
after Friday's game, prompting Bryant to throw a punch and leading to a
two-game suspension for both.
He dismissed Miller, likening him to a fool, at one point. But to everyone
else, Bryant apologized.
"I deserved (the two-game suspension)," he said. "I deserved it. Probably
deserved even a little more
"I'm going to apologize to my teammates because I can't join them. They're
out there battling and fighting on the court. .
"I don't believe fighting is the answer. At all. I don't. But sometimes, as
a man, you have to do what you have to do. .
"We can sit up here and talk about this until we're all blue in the face.
The fact of the matter is, I made a mistake. It wasn't the best decision in
the world. At the time, I felt like it was the right decision. I have to
deal with the consequences. I have to deal with the criticism. I just move
on and continue to grow and mature as a man. That's the bottom line."
Bryant suggested that he'd thought Miller had extended their night-long
trash-talking duel too far, to non-basketball subject matter. .
"Trash-talking is something, it's part of the game. There's a thin line
between taking things from the basketball court and taking things off the
court," he said.
Miller also hinted pointedly at non-basketball matters, declaring - two days
later, in a prepared release - that, "Kobe has other issues he has to deal
with. They had nothing to do with me or the basketball game played Friday
evening."
Not surprisingly, Bryant didn't see it that way.
"Reggie doesn't know me," he said. "He doesn't know me at all. And I'll
never argue with fools. That's just a waste of time."
Prohibited from being in the arena Sunday, as well as Tuesday night against
the New Jersey Nets, Bryant says he watched the Lakers' victory over the
Houston Rockets on television and was moved at the sight of Shaquille O'Neal
wearing his No. 8 in pregame warmups.
As for the possibility that O'Neal stretched the jersey into a tent, Bryant
is OK with that.
"I was kind of happy, man," he said, "because you know how the NBA rules
make you wear those tight, little John Stockton uniforms? I was kind of
happy. He stretched it out for me. I was hoping maybe he could wear my
shorts."
NYPat
http://new.blackvoices.com/features/heritage/bv-sports-kobebryant-020304,0,646339.column
From the Los Angeles Times
BILL PLASCHKE
Bill Plaschke
Miller incident leaves Bryant boxed into a corner
Published March 4, 2002
If only Friday's night ugliness was about just one punch.
If only the ramifications lasted just the length of the suspension.
It only this entire matter would go away in two games, allowing the Lakers
to return to the business of lacing their spikes and sprinting after
Sacramento. But it won't.
Because what happened Friday night is not about Kobe Bryant's fist, but his
head.
He has changed.
A sweet kid has grown into a sassy young adult. The smooth guy has become a
tough guy. Over his designer silk game, he has draped a crusty leather
jacket.
Wonder Boy has sometimes become Wonder-What-On -Earth-Is-He-Thinking Boy.
After naming Bryant one of their three leaders this season, the Lakers have
benefited from many nights of Captain Courageous.
But sometimes, they have been stuck with Cap'n Crunch.
Friday night was one of those times.
Confirming that the change in Bryant has not been all good.
Shaquille O'Neal may have worn Bryant's jersey during introductions before
Sunday's 95-79 win over Houston.
And Derek Fisher may have earlier said, rather incredulously, that Bryant's
running punch of Indiana's Reggie Miller on Friday was a matter of
self-defense.
But here's guessing Laker bosses know better.
For them to stay hot enough to win their third consecutive championship,
Bryant must chill.
No more post-game punches to shut somebody up. Especially after your team
has already done that on the court.
"I think in respect to the team, I think it was a selfish thing to do,"
Coach Phil Jackson said Sunday, publicly scolding Bryant with words sharper
than any jab.
No more punches of teammates on busses over ... money? Remember, Friday's
incident came only eight days after Bryant punched Samaki Walker on a bus in
Cleveland.
"What happened Friday, coming on the heels of the incident with a teammate,
makes you wonder what's on Kobe's mind," Rick Fox said.
No more collecting seven technical fouls in two months, Bryant's haul at the
beginning of this season.
"He's been very edgy all year," Fox said.
The Lakers wanted Bryant to become more of an emotional leader. But they
never bargained for this.
"This is what we were asking for ... and now that we get it, we're
concerned?" asked Fox with a laugh.
Well, um, yes.
By Sunday night, Bryant had not explained Friday's actions, avoiding the
media in tough situations as he has done several times this year.
Miller, however, issued a statement that included this cryptic line.
"Kobe has other issues he has to deal with. They had nothing to do with me
or the basketball game played Friday evening."
That could be simply more trash talk.
Or maybe Miller, for all his blather, has also noticed a change.
We're not going to play pop psychologist here. Bryant will eventually speak
for himself.
But he already spoke to the team about Friday's incident.
"He said he didn't condone what he did, but he also said, 'I had to stand up
for myself, stand up for my teammates,'" recalled Fox.
Not exactly words endorsed by Jackson.
"I don't think he was apologetic," Jackson said. "He said, 'I did what I had
to do.'"
But did he?
Did slugging Miller do anything for him or the team?
"I think you let your play do your talking for you," Jackson said. "We won
the game. Enough said."
And about this so-called, strangely elusive "respect?" The word which some
Lakers have used in this case, and as an excuse for every sort of on-court
tussle in a season increasingly marred by them?
"You don't get respect, you earn it," Jackson said.
Jackson was asked whether he understood why Bryant attacked Miller.
"No," Jackson said.
Jackson was asked whether the team was satisfied with Bryant's explanation.
"I wouldn't say everybody's happy that he's missing the games," Jackson
said. "No one's all right with that."
While it was written here that O'Neal's sucker swing at Brad Miller in
January was equally unjustified, the Lakers are looking at this different.
They saw O'Neal in the context of, it was the first and probably last
serious incident of his career.
They look at Bryant in the context of, what's next?
"He's definitely trying to set a tone about what he's all about," said Fox.
"He sees himself as the best in the league, and in his mind, that carries a
lot of weight, draws out a lot of challenges."
The biggest one apparently being, self control.
When the Lakers play host to the New Jersey Nets on Tuesday in a possible
NBA finals preview, their best finals-type player will not be there.
Kobe Bryant, stopped cold by Reggie Miller.
Changes, indeed.
stargazer
"NYPat" <nos...@anywhere.com> wrote in message
news:BkgUa.118887$EQ5....@twister.nyroc.rr.com...
> And another article about the incident:
So Kobe is not exactly what he seems to be either. He's been known to lose
his tempter it appears.
sg
>
>
>
http://new.blackvoices.com/features/heritage/bv-sports-kobebryant-020304,0,6
Robert St. James (el corazon del demonio)
"stargazer" <star...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:t0iUa.45$1m...@fe03.atl2.webusenet.com...
>
> "NYPat" <nos...@anywhere.com> wrote in message
> news:BkgUa.118887$EQ5....@twister.nyroc.rr.com...
> > And another article about the incident:
>
>
>
> So Kobe is not exactly what he seems to be either. He's been known to lose
> his tempter it appears.
>
> sg
You try playing Reggie Miller for 48mins of his mouth and resist
punching him. Then come back and tell us.
RstJ
Alex
news:t0iUa.45$1m...@fe03.atl2.webusenet.com...
>
> "NYPat" <nos...@anywhere.com> wrote in message
> news:BkgUa.118887$EQ5....@twister.nyroc.rr.com...
> > And another article about the incident:
>
> So Kobe is not exactly what he seems to be either. He's been known to lose
> his tempter it appears.
Not lose his temper - take up a _challenge_ from a fellow athlete.
Reactive, not impulsive. That's not the same thing. We're not talking
about Dennis Rodman here.
Alex
Frosty
>
>You try playing Reggie Miller for 48mins of his mouth and resist
>punching him. Then come back and tell us.
While Reggie does have a major reputation for trash-talking, literally dozens of
guys have gone up against him without taking a swing at him.
Also, I'd like to know what Reggie meant by this:
"Kobe has other issues he has to deal with. They had nothing to do with me or
the basketball game played Friday evening."
Frosty
Robert St. James (el corazon del demonio)
"Frosty" <Frosty...@newsguy.com> wrote in message
news:bfse2...@drn.newsguy.com...
> In article <SDiUa.130501$wk6....@rwcrnsc52.ops.asp.att.net>, "Robert says...
> >
> >You try playing Reggie Miller for 48mins of his mouth and resist
> >punching him. Then come back and tell us.
>
> While Reggie does have a major reputation for trash-talking, literally dozens of
> guys have gone up against him without taking a swing at him.
Ok, you got me on that one. Reggie has a hyperactive jaw, but he's
usually not duking it out w/people.
>
> Also, I'd like to know what Reggie meant by this:
>
> "Kobe has other issues he has to deal with. They had nothing to do with me or
> the basketball game played Friday evening."
>
> Frosty
Probably talking about Kobe's hair.
RstJ
yaffaDina1
> A little more insight into what makes Kobe Bryant tick.
Thanks! I think! There's an article in the Star that says his
marriage was in trouble and that KB's been partying and trying to get
phone numbers from girls. It also says that the wife likes to spend
money ... Maybe she can sell the $4mill. ring and do some more.
Let's see who comes out now and says the wife's a golddigger. It's
one thing to marry for money and quite another to make rape charges in
the hopes of getting some after the trashing and the trial.
yD -- faby TOY
yaffaDina1
> And another article about the incident:
"Edgy all year"? Violent episodes? Hey, guys, you know him.
yD--faby TOY
stargazer
"Robert St. James (el corazon del demonio)" <robert...@yahoo.com> wrote
in message news:SDiUa.130501$wk6....@rwcrnsc52.ops.asp.att.net...
>
> "stargazer" <star...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:t0iUa.45$1m...@fe03.atl2.webusenet.com...
> >
> > "NYPat" <nos...@anywhere.com> wrote in message
> > news:BkgUa.118887$EQ5....@twister.nyroc.rr.com...
> > > And another article about the incident:
> >
> >
> >
> > So Kobe is not exactly what he seems to be either. He's been known to
lose
> > his tempter it appears.
> >
> > sg
>
> You try playing Reggie Miller for 48mins of his mouth and resist
> punching him. Then come back and tell us.
>
> RstJ
I was responding to this part of the 'second' article;
snipped>
He has changed.
He's definitely trying to set a tone about what he's all about," said Fox.
"He sees himself as the best in the league, and in his mind, that carries a
lot of weight, draws out a lot of challenges."
The biggest one apparently being, self control.
sg