Is it the Type of Money or the Type of Crime?

There have been quite a few instances in the media in recent times that grasped my attention. It is these instances that have caused me to ask the question: “Is it the type of money you have or the type of crime?”

I guess I need to begin at the beginning. A couple of years ago, a young woman in Colorado accused Kobe Bryant of raping her. It drew major media attention since Kobe Bryant was the big time basketball player for the infamous Los Angeles Lakers and he was married. The media turned the whole trial into a circus. The young woman’s history was put on blast and her character was assassinated. She was the center of ridicule and made to look as if she was a whore. I won’t speak on her actions but I do know that she deserved to be treated with a little of bit of dignity, whether she was telling the truth or not. Needless to say, Kobe got off but it cost him a pretty penny to get back in the good graces of his wife (a $4 million, 8-carat purple diamond ring).

Then here comes the R. Kelly situation. First the release of the tape that depicts him, setting up the camera for all the right angles as he proceeds to have sex with an underage girl. He even went so far as to pee on the young girl. But I can only tell you what I saw not what I heard. His court case gets delayed for so long that it was questionable as to whether or not he was going to even have a day in court. Then he goes to court after what seemed like forever (five years to be exact) and gets off. He gets charged with 21 counts of child molestation and he walks. He doesn’t even get a slap on the wrist, he walks. He walks even with the testimony of an ex-lover who partook in the sexual exploits with the underage girl and others on many occasions. Yet, he still walked. Go figure?

And lastly, there was my homeboy Michael Vick. Here this young man is the star quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons. He manages to revive a professional football team, giving them new life and purpose considering their previous history (292-328 since their inception in 1966). He increased ticket sells and filled the seats. Yet, some property that was in his name gets raided and the people residing there get busted. They are facing drug charges and to save their own skin they decide to say whatever it takes. Now Michael Vick goes to trial and is found guilty of federal charges of dog fighting conspiracy and still has to stand trial for the state charges when he gets out. He is currently serving a 23 month sentence in Leavenworth, Kansas. (I’m still not quite sure who is attorney was.)