Despite what happened 17 years ago, I still think the world of Kobe. I try not to judge people on their worst mistake. In the end, that girl made out fine. And the fact she refused to testify means to me she wasn’t fully honest. Because if someone raped me, you better believe I’m going all in on that. That aside, getting the news he was dead was like a gut punch. I felt like apart of me died. Kobe was intertwined into my childhood and transition to adulthood. He was a staple of my reality. And the fact that he was with his daughter and 7 other people just breaks my heart in ways that I can not describe. I understand the hate he gets, because of what happened all those years ago, I feel that. But I can’t just deny this empty feeling I have in my heart. I cannot just tear my childhood apart like that because of how other people feel.