Tweets about Kobe Bryant get Washington Post reporter suspended for 'poor judgment' Read more here:

[ripcord]

Source: Belleville News-Democrat

The Washington Post suspended a political reporter Sunday who tweeted about rape allegations against Kobe Bryant hours after the former basketball player’s death.

Bryant was accused of rape in 2003 by a 19-year-old employee at a Colorado hotel. The case was dropped and Bryant later admitted to cheating on his wife, Vanessa Bryant.

The tweets from Felicia Sonmez “displayed poor judgment that undermined the work of her colleagues,” the Washington Post said in a statement to Fox News.

The tweet led to Sonmez being “ratio’d” and she later deleted the thread, which included her commenting about the amount of messages she received. She did not write the Daily Beast story she tweeted.


Read more: https://www.bnd.com/news/nation-world/national/article239675538.html

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Just bad timing and no common sense.

[Phoenix61]

1. Yep, time and place for everything. She's

young. She’ll figure it out.

[Fullduplexxx]

2. Another protected personality

[delisen]

3. Censoring the facts is bad timing and lack of respect for factual reporting.

When Bill Clinton's obituary is written it will mention an affair with a White House intern. I have no doubt that there will be reporters who tweet about it.

I am not a basketball "fan." I know Bryant was extremely talented and by all accounts was on a path in which he was doing much good. People are not saints.

There is really no good reason to suspend a political preorder for linking to a news article that was not an attack piece regarding an events that actually happened.

[ripcord]

11. I have no doubt Lewinsky will be brought up after Clinton's death

And I will think just as badly about someone who brings it up within hours of his death, it isn't about the deceased it is about giving their family some time, would it have mattered at all if she had waited a day or two?

[Jose Garcia]

4. The Post is stating that she was suspended for revealing the full names of

people whe emailed her:

Link to tweet

?s=19

[JonLP24]

16. The replies to his Tweet that he is hiding are not even offensive

[Evergreen Emerald]

5. I recall how his attorney decimated her in the media

with the smiling Kobe by the attorney's side. The poor girl was raped, and humiliated and then humiliated again in the media to the point where she decided not to cooperate with prosecution.

Poor timing? Late timing.

[AtheistCrusader]

6. Me Too is over already, apparently.

"“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, Colorado.

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. Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did. After months of reviewing discovery, listening to her attorney, and even her testimony in person, I now understand how she feels that she did not consent to this encounter.

I issue this statement today fully aware that while one part of this case ends today, another remains. I understand that the civil case against me will go forward. That part of this case will be decided by and between the parties directly involved in the incident and will no longer be a financial or emotional drain on the citizens of the state of Colorado.”"

-Kobe Bryant

[DrToast]

12. The girl settled because the case against Bryant was falling apart

I don’t know what happened that night, but there was certainly reasonable doubt, IMO.

[Yeehah]

13. I suppose that's why he admitted the sex was non-consensual, paid an undisclosed sum, and apologized

Because of all that doubt.

[DrToast]

14. I suppose that's why she refused to testify

And accepted a paycheck instead. You can spin that ridiculous argument the other way, you know.

[obamanut2012]

18. You are wrong AF and twisting what actually happen

[RhodeIslandOne]

15. Probably because this sort of crap was how ball was played back then

Can you imagine this now?

[obamanut2012]

17. That is literally the opposite of what happened

There was a very strong case against him, but KB's attorneys and minions harassed and slut-shamed the victim fro over a year, including following her from job to job harassing her at her place of employment, leaking her medical records, etc. The DA and his staff begged her to not sop cooperating, but her mental health and life was in tatters. However, he had to admit what he did publicly, and agree to be sued civilly, for teh DA to drop teh suit, which he did. HE ADMITTED PUBLICLY IS WAS NOT CONSENSUAL.

But, you do you, and carry water for this rapist just because he was a sports star.

[R B Garr]

22. Except the DNA came back with multiple male specimens. That's how it started falling

apart. She went to his room willingly when it was not in her job description to do so, like a bellhop or something. It was looking like she withdrew consent, so that is probably why Kobe agreed to apologize. I used to read about it extensively 17 years ago, but hadn't heard about her being harassed from job to job.

Speaking of leaks, Kobe's home address was leaked in court papers that were posted online. I remember seeing his address.

[AtheistCrusader]

19. Silly then for him to admit he understood it was non-consensual from her point of view

in his public apology at the conclusion of the criminal charge. I posted the entire text of his apology a couple posts up-thread.

The civil case went on to monetary settlement, of unknown size.

[R B Garr]

23. You are right, the case was falling apart. In particular, the DNA evidence showed multiple

male specimens. I forgot how many, but it wasn't just Kobe. Not only that, but she left her position to go to his room when there was no reason for her to be in his room based on her job position in the hotel.

It was coming down to a withdrawal of consent at some point during their encounter and there would have been testimony to that. So that looks to be why she settled for an apology from him -- plus about 2.5 million settlement, as I remember it.

[unitedwethrive]

7. Now that he's dead, I wonder if any NDA the then 19 year old signed is still valid.

I'm guessing that since charges were dropped, some agreement was reached. I would be interested in hearing the whole story.

[AtheistCrusader]

20. The NDA is attached to the civil case, which was settled. The dropped charges were criminal

and didn't have a settlement attached at all.

I share your curiosity if the NDA is still in force.

[R B Garr]

21. Didn't she get a $2.5 million settlement? Something like that. She also dropped

the charges, but he had to apologize in court papers, as I recall. What came out was that she had DNA evidence of multiple men. So the whole story was getting a bit dicey. This is just from what I remember of the case 17 years ago. She went to his room, but her position in the hotel didn't warrant room visits like a bellhop or something.

I can see why she dropped the case. She had a chance to tell her story, but the other side would be having to explain some of the above circumstances. I think it was coming down to a retraction of consent, which is still a legitimate charge against him, but there were some things she had to explain that were out of the usual.

[Jake Stern]

8. Would you feel the same once Trump dies?

Last edited Tue Jan 28, 2020, 01:00 AM - Edit history (1)

That a reporter, who was herself a victim of sexual assault, wait a while to publish a story on him?

Why am I getting the feeling the answer is "no"?

[RhodeIslandOne]

10. This is bullshit