Kobe Bryant Isn't First Sports Start To Be Accused Of Rape
CALLEBS: Kobe Bryant is not the first professional athlete to face such a sexual assault case. CNN's Larry Smith takes a look the long list of he said/she saids in sports.</s>LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Once again, a professional athlete is in the public eye for all the wrongs reasons. Charged with sexual assault against a 19-year-old woman, All-Star guard, Kobe Bryant is the latest in a long line of athletes charged with a sexual offense.</s>JEFF BENEDICT, AUTHOR, "PUBLIC HEROES, PRIVATE LIVES": Athletes are not use to being told no, they're not use to the traditional rules and norms that apply to most people.</s>JACK MCCALLUM, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": His reservations are made for him, he doesn't touch his baggage he has adoring fans. And this kind of bulletproof, invulnerable image, kind of comes to somebody. This particular situation were he was, you had the, kind of, off season, the deserted resort, the teammates aren't around, the press aren't around, the only guys around are his body guards.</s>SMITH: It is a long way between an accusation and conviction. In fact, of 15 high-profile sexual assault cases involving athletes over the last seven years, there has been but a single conviction and many cases never even get that far.</s>BENEDICT: There's a natural tendency to settle these cases, it's particularly in sexual assault cases, because it is so hard to sort out the he said/she said case.</s>LESTER MUNSON, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATE" LEGAL ANALYST: I believe the celebrity factor in the trial generally works in the athlete's favor. We frequently see juries who are somehow impressed with the famous athlete being there in the same courtroom with them. The athletes are typical very well represented. They are wealthy people who can afford attorneys who are at the absolute top of the line.</s>SMITH: And in the court of public opinion, athletes are sometimes seen as unwitting victims of calculating women.</s>BILLY HUNTER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NBA: The combination of being extremely wealthy, of -- you know, having access to every kind of material benefit one could have or wish for, the combination of celebrity, I think it's extremely intoxicating, not only for the players, but people who want access to them.</s>BENEDICT: Every time a victim comes forward and allege a sexual assault they are categorized by criminal defense attorneys as a groupie, it's a groupie defense and rarely is that the truth.</s>SMITH: Kobe Bryant was a player who made all the right moves both on and off the court. But, even if he's acquitted, his reputation could be ruined.</s>MUNSON: There's a toxic shadow that remains over the athlete, probably to the end of his career, that it was he who was accused of a sexual assault and managed to get out of it.</s>SMITH: For both Bryan and his accuser, the most difficult days lay ahead. For CNN Sports, I'm Larry Smith.</s>CALLEBS: Now, in Kobe Bryant's immediate future, a court date has been mentioned, August 6th. At the hearing, the charges will be entered formally and according to his attorney, Bryant will plead not guilty, then bond will be set. If the trial go -- if the case goes to trial, a conviction could mean four years to life in prison, or accord to Colorado statutes, he could be sensed to probation and that could range from 20 years to life. For more on this story and other legal stories in the news, check out our website at CNN.com. AOL keyword is "CNN." Rape>