Kobe defending gays?

I’m not condoning Kobe Bryant’s behavior during a game last week, but I’m not convinced he has a huge anti-gay agenda, either. I’m going to chalk up his recent incident — wherein he insulted an official using gay slurs – to stupidity.

But where he really has me wondering is his latest reaction. According to ESPN’s Lisa Salters,Bryant told her he used to beat up kids in high school who would torment minority friends.

In her recounting, he told her: “Even though I didn’t mean it that way, I’ve since learned what that word still means to a lot of people,. I went on-line myself and I did my own research and I saw and I read about kids who were committing suicide because of being teased for who they are. I don’t play that. I used to beat up a lot of kids even in high school who used to tease my friends because they were gay, or because they were black, or because they were Jewish, or because they were yellow, or because they were whatever. For people who don’t think my apology is sincere, they don’t know me. This isn’t over for me. I really plan to do more. What I said was ignorant and I really didn’t realize what I was saying. Now that I do and realize how it affects people I really plan to do more and to help with the awareness.”

I’m not doubting his intent on improving peoples’ “awareness,” but I’m not entirely buying the high school defender stories. Most of the time, entitled high school athletes don’t go to war to defend the downtrodden.

In the case of Kobe and his defending the abused, I’m inclined to quote the late, great Ronald Reagan: “Trust but verify.”