Ali Mousavi
ENG 102
9/11/14
Rhetorical Analysis of an Apology Draft Kobe Bryant the 6-foot-6 guard was a member of the Lakers team that won three straight NBA championships in the 2000-2002 seasons. He was named most valuable player in the NBA All-Star game in the 2002 season. In 1998, Bryant became the youngest player to appear in an NBA All-Star game.
On December 16, 2003 Professional basketball player Kobe Bryant was charged Friday afternoon with sexual assault of a 19-year-old woman in a Colorado hotel where she worked. The 24-year-old Los Angeles Lakers star, who is married and the father of a daughter, was charged with one count of sexual assault, a felony. If convicted, Bryant could serve four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation. If Bryant was charged he would be charged with the $750,000 fine. "I'm innocent," Bryant told a press conference Friday evening at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, where the Lakers played. With his wife and attorney by his side, Bryant took long breaths and said quietly, "You know. I didn't force her to do anything against her will, I’m innocent. You know. I sit here in front of you guys furious at myself. Disgusted at myself for making a mistake of adultery. I love my wife with all my heart. She's my backbone." The woman alleges she was a victim of sexual misconduct by Bryant on June 30 at the Lodge and Spa at Cordillera in Edwards. No details of the victim's allegations was made public, and a judge sealed information in the case. Bryant stayed at the Colorado hotel from June 30 to July 2. Eagle County Sheriff Joseph Hoy issued an arrest warrant and Bryant returned to Colorado from Los Angeles to surrender on July 4. He was released on $25,000 bond.
Kobe Bryant is an important celebrity and athlete who knows that he is a role model to most basketball fans. He knows that he is under people’s eyes and whatever he does right or wrong affects his long term career. When people find out that Kobe is charged with one count of sexual assault they start to think negative thoughts about him. It is not a good situation for an athlete when he gets charged with one count of sexual assault, a felony. When an important celebrity gets charged with a felony, that celebrity goes under so much pressure and punishment from this fans or social media. Fans want to know why their role model has made a wrong decision and was charged with a felony.
The following statement by Kobe Bryant was issued after sexual assault charges against him were dropped: "First, I want to apologize directly to the young woman involved in this incident. I want to apologize to her for my behavior that night and for the consequences she has suffered in the past year. Although this year has been incredibly difficult for me personally, I can only imagine the pain she has had to endure. I also want to apologize to her parents and family members, and to my family and friends and supporters, and to the citizens of Eagle, Colo. We can see from Kobe’s a clear example of pathos. Kobe showed his emotions during that speech by apologizing directly to the women who was sexually assaulted by him. Also later in his speech he mentioned about the pain that the 19 year old woman has had to endure which also defines pathos. “I also want to make it clear that I do not question the motives of this young woman. No money has been paid to this woman. She has agreed that this statement will not be used against me in the civil case.” When Kobe talks on how no money has been paid to this woman, he is using logos in his speech which shows the facts on his speech. "I made the mistake of adultery. I have to answer to my wife and my God for my actions that night and I pray that both will forgive me.” This speech from Kobe bring back the use of pathos in his speech because his is talking about what a mistake he has made and shows he feels sorry and emotional. "These false allegations have hurt my family. I will fight against these allegations with all my strength.” We can see that in this speech Kobe said that he will fight against all those allegations with all his power, this shows the use of ethos on Kobe’s speech. He shows how he is going to use his character’s power to solve the problems. In Kobe Bryant’s apology speech, the main audience was the woman who was sexually assaulted by Kobe. "First, I want to apologize directly to the young woman involved in this incident. He apologized to her and her parents and to the citizens of Eagle, Colorado. Also Kobe’s apology was made at the court and was recorded with cameras for social media.

Works Cited http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1872928 http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/07/18/kobe.bryant.statement/index.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSamEqtPVao