23 Dec 10Kobe Bryant: Is He Really Sending the Wrong Message To Kids with New Ad?

I come home, flip on the T.V. and the first thing I see is Kobe's face blown up on Outside The Lines. The recent rave about Kobe's appearance on the new game Call Of Duty: Black Ops hasbeen blownway out of proportion.As sports fans, it's fun and exciting to see a well known athlete we look up to Buffalo Bills jersey
relate to us in a way besides dunking a ball or making ESPN's Top Ten.What I don't understand is why so many critics are beginning to appear. It is natural that Kobe is receiving attention for appearing on such a popular video game commercial, but it seems obvious that most of the publicity is actually criticism.Psychology majors, youth football coaches and many others have made their messages clear, and honestly that's there only way of receiving unnecessary attention."I couldn't believe it was him," Walker says, "What's wrong with him?"Coach Walker has dealt with many deaths, consisting of young kids, even some of whom he had coached. Just lastMonday, Walker was preparing a funeral for a 14-year-old kid who had played under him for five years. It is a difficult job to deal with so many deaths, at such a young age, but what does this really have to do with Kobe Bryant?Kobe has merely appeared in a simple commercial consisting of other celebrities, including Jimmy Kimmel and many others. The theme of the commercial is: "There is a soldier in all of us," and the main point of showing this commercial with various celebrities is to show that people in all walks of life can join the Call Of Duty Community. Honestly, what is wrong with that?Everyone is comparing Kobe to a controversial incident with Allen Iverson. Just about ten years ago, Iverson came out with a rap album.It consisted of him talking about how he carried guns, did drugs, and most importantly, that he was a thug.Now this was a huge deal considering even NBA Commissioner David Stern got involved, but this is completely different from Kobe's current situation. Iverson actually physically said that he did all of those things and that he supported them, the most one can say about Kobe is that he impliedsome sort of negative message consisting of violence and war.No one should take a video game seriously; I highlight game for a reason. The fact is, Kobe wasn't actually shooting someone, he was merely holding an Carolina Panthers jersey
assault rifle with his nickname (Black Mamba) on the side. When a superstar athlete and a talk show host are walking around with machine guns and pistols, I hope everyone can take a breath and simply laugh off the silly concept of the commercial.The saddest part of this whole situation is the pathetic doctors, parents, and others who are trying to point fingers at Kobe for appearing on a commercial that in their words is either mocking the very real war that is going on, or that Kobe is simply promoting violence.The CEO of Major League Gaming came onto Outside The Lines and basically said that: "Entertainment is what it is. It is where we all go to get away from the realities of the day." These words could not be any more true.At the end of the day, Call Of Duty: Black Ops is part of the gaming industry, which is part of the entertainment world. This has nothing to do with Kobe and what he stands for. He might be playing this game as we speak, but we all know that Kobe isn't going to go out into the streets holding a gun, promoting war and violence, and that holds true for the majority of kids or adults playing any war game.Once again, don't take this commercial so literally. Kobe merely came out and promoted the game, not the theme of violence or war, Chicago Bears jersey
and I hope all of you have already figured that out.Before I end, I would like to acknowledge those that are truly dealing with war or violence, that this game may appear as an insult towards those serving, or those who have been lost, but I simply want to put out the reality that Kobe has nothing to do with this problem.