JUST STEP BACK AND THINK FOR A MINUTE, KOBEWATCHERS: So argues Steve Duin in The Oregonian:

There are no innocents in this story. That said, I tend to believe the woman. After she gave Bryant a personal tour of the resort, did this star-struck concierge make a mistake in accepting the invitation to continue their conversation in his room?

I suspect she did. But perhaps it was Bryant's sterling, polished reputation that disarmed her. She wasn't dealing with Shawn Kemp or a Trail Blazer. She was meeting a charismatic young man with a beautiful 20-year-old wife and a 6-month-old daughter.

And it is precisely because Bryant admits to betraying them that night that, for me, he loses much of his credibility. At a bare minimum, within an hour of checking into a Colorado resort Bryant was having sex with a 19-year-old he'd never met before.

Whomever you believe in this story, the public undressing of this woman is pathetic and shameful. The "hottest discussion" at freekobe.com is whether the woman is attractive. Topless pictures and other photographs of high-school classmates -- apparently misidentified -- are randomly tossed into the mix on Web sites that are little more than dartboards.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we're probably still six months away from a trial date! We've only just begun the dive toward the gutter, a descent that will illustrate why so many women believe they have more to lose than gain by seeking justice in a rape case.

Will Bryant's life also be torn apart in the process? I wouldn't be surprised. But you wouldn't wish that upon him, and we shouldn't be so cavalier or detached now that it's happening to her.