The Washington Post came under fire when it decided to suspend one of its reporters after she tweeted about the rape case against Kobe Bryant.
Bryant was an American professional basketball player, who spent his entire 20-season professional career in the league with the Los Angeles Lakers. He and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant, and seven others died on January 26, 2020, in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.
Just when the U.S., the world, the entire sports enthusiasts and fans were learning about the news, Felicia Sonmez tweeted a link to a Daily Beast story titled, "Kobe Bryant's Disturbing Rape Case: The DNA Evidence, the Accuser's Story, and the Half-Confession."
"The Daily Beast has reviewed the legal and court documents of the Kobe Bryant rape case, including testimony from the accuser, then 19, and Bryant, then 27, which shed some light on what may have happened that night," she tweeted.
While she quickly realized her lack of judgement and timing, the damage was already done.
In less than a few hours after Bryant's death and her alleged tweet, she received "abuse and death threats" from "10,000 people, literally." She added that "any public figure is worth remembering in their totality." She even had to leave her home out of fear for her safety.
Her tweets were later deleted.
Her employer, The Washington Post which was sold to a holding company established by Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos for $250 million in cash, was furious that it suspended Sonmez.
But soon after the news of Sonmez's suspension broke, numerous outlets criticized The Washington Post's decision. That included Sonmez's fellow colleagues and the news agency's other employees.
Many were accusing The Washington Post for not protecting Sonmez's as its own journalist, and not keeping her away from abuse.
In the summer of 2003, Kobe Bryant was accused of and charged with sexual assault filed by a 19-year-old hotel employee.
At that time, Bryant checked into The Lodge and Spa at Cordillera, a hotel in Edwards, Colorado, before his knee surgery which was going to be held in a nearby hospital. The accuser stated that Bryant raped her in his hotel room the night before Bryant was to have the procedure.
Bryant admitted to an adulterous sexual encounter with the accuser, but denied her sexual assault allegation.
According to Bryant, the sex was consensual.
This incident ruined Bryant's reputation as a professional basketball player, as the public's perception of him plummeted. Because of this case, his endorsement contracts with McDonald's and Nutella were terminated; sales for Bryant's replica jersey also fell significantly.
However, in September 2004, the assault case was dropped by prosecutors because the accuser refused to testify at the trial.
Bryant agreed to apologize to her for the incident. The two sides settled the case privately.
After the allegations, Bryant signed endorsement contracts with several brands, including Nike, Spalding, and Coca-Cola. His contracts with McDonald's and Nutella however, were not renewed.
Bryant as one of the best known basketball player, was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player in 2008 and the Finals' Most Valuable Player in 2009 and 2010.