Current Events > Washington Post suspends reporter after Kobe Bryant rape allegation tweet.

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/washington-post-suspends-reporter-after-kobe-bryant-rape-allegation-tweet-n1124031

A Washington Post reporter has been suspended after she tweeted an old article about Kobe Bryant being accused of rape, shortly after the news of the NBA legend's death broke. Felicia Sonmez, a national political reporter for The Washington Post, on Sunday afternoon tweeted a 2016 Daily Beast article with the headline, "Kobe Bryants Disturbing Rape Case: The DNA Evidence, the Accusers Story, and the Half-Confession." Her tweet came in the moments after the stunning news broke that Bryant had died at the age of 41 in a helicopter crash in the Los Angeles area. His 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven other people also died in the crash. Sonmez later deleted the tweet and others, defending her decision to share the article. "Any public figure is worth remembering in their totality, even if that public figure beloved and that totality upsetting," Sonmez wrote. She also tweeted a screenshot of hate mail she had received over the tweets, including the names of the senders. That tweet has also now been deleted.

One of the Washington Post's managing editors, Tracy Grant, said in a statement released to NBC News on Monday that Sonmez "was placed on administrative leave while The Post reviews whether tweets about the death of Kobe Bryant violated The Post newsrooms social media policy." "The tweets displayed poor judgment that undermined the work of her colleagues," Grant said. Sonmez' tweet prompted swift outrage Sunday, and many called for her to be fired. "@washingtonpost You need to fire Felicia Sonmez asap! Her tweets about Kobe Bryant after he & other victims died in a tragic helicopter crash are beyond insensitive. They are cold hearted & show no respect for his family/friends. Parents & children died today for Christ sake!" one person tweeted. "Is the Washington Post going to fire Felicia Sonmez for this heartless tweet or does the paper condone her actions after the tragic death of Kobe Bryant?" asked another. Many people expressed equal outrage that the Post had decided to put Sonmez on leave following her tweets. The Washington Post "should reinstate Felicia Sonmez. An overreaction to the keyboard warriors. While you can debate the timing of the tweets, it's a relevant detail to the life of Kobe Bryant. A newspaper silencing a journalist sets a terrible example," one person wrote.

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Good, the reporter is insensitive and possibly racist.
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Good.

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Cowards.

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Lebronwon posted...

"Any public figure is worth remembering in their totality, even if that public figure beloved and that totality upsetting," Sonmez wrote.

When she's right, she's right.
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So much for freedom of the press.

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CE when Trump stops having press meetings: What about the first amendment?
CE now: Fuck the first amendment

Never change, CE. Never change

Should be fired

DarthAragorn posted...

Should be fired

Why
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Hop103 posted...

Good, the reporter is insensitive and possibly racist.

Don't try to turn this into a race thing

What's the point? It's not like he died for a cause or is a martyr. He's dead, and just smearing the name of a dead person is pointless, and in fact only harmful to the surviving family, who were probably not accomplices if the allegations are true.

Insensitive, toxic, pointless.

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legendarylemur posted...

He's dead, and just smearing the name of a dead person is pointless,

I don't think it's smearing to link to reporting about someone's actions.
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Antifar posted...

I don't think it's smearing to link to reporting about someone's actions.

Uhh... why? You know smearing somebody's name doesn't have anything to do with whether or not the accusation is based on truth or falsehood

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To be fair, I literally didn't know Kobe was accused of this until the Anita topic.

I think a lot of people legitimately didn't know what he was accused of and it is shady as fuck.

While I think it is douchey to bring it up so soon after his death, I don't think it's wrong to do so
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legendarylemur posted...

Uhh... why? You know smearing somebody's name doesn't have anything to do with whether or not the accusation is based on truth or falsehood

what are you even trying to say here bud

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This is definitely the worst kind of exploitive journalism. No sympathy for her.

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UnfairRepresent posted...

I think a lot of people legitimately didn't know what he was accused of and it is shady as f***.

Are you sure? I remember it being all over the news and in media Jadakiss even referenced it in that Why song I used to hear all the time in that era and Dave Chappelle did a bit on it as well, it was big news back then and it followed Kobe around for years

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tremain07 posted...

Are you sure? I remember it being all over the news and in media Jadakiss even referenced it in that Why song I used to hear all the time in that era and Dave Chappelle did a bit on it as well, it was big news back then and it followed Kobe around for years

Judging by Twitter, seems lot of pressure either didn't know or were misinformed

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Kobe was a young man indulging in the lifestyle alot of NBA players do. From my understanding it wasn't a forced encounter but when Kobe went to the back court it became a violation. That was way back in 2003, he's changed alot since then as most people do. His self from a year or two ago would of slapped the hell out of himself back then for putting his family in jeopardy and it would of never happened. He had all girls and it changes a guy, his wife was incredible to stick by him after that mess. May God bless him and all those on the helicopter.

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UnfairRepresent posted...

To be fair, I literally didn't know Kobe was accused of this until the Anita topic.

I think a lot of people legitimately didn't know what he was accused of and it is shady as fuck.

While I think it is douchey to bring it up so soon after his death, I don't think it's wrong to do so

It happened in 2003 and received massive television coverage, and was not only settled between Kobe and the girl, but very descriptive details of the event and case were released to the public. The fact that newer people haven't heard about it in 2020 isn't shady, it simply means it had a mutual ending between the parties and thus no longer needed television coverage in the past 15+-ish years.

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This reminds me a bit of the NDT tweet about the top statistical causes of death, the weekend following a school shooting... it's true and it's relevant to some of the discussion surrounding the event, but the timing is just yikes.

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He wasn't convicted, but he did make this statement:

"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."

Who knows if he made the statement just to make it all go away or if it really was a non-consensual act. We'll never really know.

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dolomedes posted...

wtf world were you guys living in where people never talked about him being a rapist????

For real. Even WWE made a joke about the shit in 2004. Big Show and Cena were having a rap battle and Show said "You're the white girl and I'm Kobe Bryant"

Man, they were bold back then.

Good. Fuck that racist pos

https://twitter.com/petersterne/status/1221942425964437505
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Man fuck the Washington Post

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NinjaBreakfast posted...

Man fuck the Washington Post

Antifar posted...

I don't think it's smearing to link to reporting about someone's actions.

Alleged actions, for starters.

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the washington post guild has come out in support of her, and rightfully so. she shouldn't face reprisal.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ErQ7bN352jQZ0Ka8kCzAW8CWr2zEnUIvms5BG2Kdt1E/edit

To Marty Baron and Tracy Grant:

We write to share our alarm and dismay that our newsroom leaders have chosen to place Felicia Sonmez on leave over a social media post, and to urge The Post to take immediate steps to ensure the safety of our colleague.

Felicia received an onslaught of violent messages, including threats that contained her home address, in the wake of a tweet Sunday regarding Kobe Bryant. Instead of protecting and supporting a reporter in the face of abuse, The Post placed her on administrative leave while newsroom leaders review whether she violated the social media policy. Felicia had to leave her home out of fear for her safety and has gotten insufficient guidance from the Post on how to protect herself.

We understand the hours after Bryants death Sunday were a fraught time to share reporting about past accusations of sexual assault. The loss of such a beloved figure, and of so many other lives, is a tragedy. But we believe it is our responsibility as a news organization to tell the public the whole truth as we know it about figures and institutions both popular and unpopular, at moments timely and untimely.

This is not the first time that The Post has sought to control how Felicia speaks on matters of sexual violence. Felicia herself is a survivor of assault who bravely came forward with her story two years ago. When articles attacking her were published in other outlets, The Post did not release a statement in support of one of its respected political reporters. Instead, management issued a warning letter against Felicia for violating The Posts vague and inconsistently enforced social media guidelines.

The Posts handling of this issue shows utter disregard for best practices in supporting survivors of sexual violence including the practices we use in our own journalism. Assault survivors inside and outside this newsroom deserve treatment that is fair and transparent; that does not blame victims or compromise the safety of survivors.

This case also reflects fundamental flaws in The Posts arbitrary and over-broad social media policy. We have repeatedly seen colleagues including members of management share contentious opinions on social media platforms without sanction. But here a valued colleague is being censured for making a statement of fact. Felicia did nothing more than what The Posts own news stories have done when she shared an article about the past allegation against Bryant.

Even now, after numerous conflicting reports have been published about Felicias situation, The Post has failed to offer a clear explanation of why she was placed on leave to Felicia or to anyone else. We are concerned by The Post's unwillingness to be transparent about this issue, and alarmed by the implication that reporters will be penalized for talking about any topic not on their beat.

We urge The Post to immediately provide Felicia with a security detail and take whatever other steps are necessary to ensure her safety, as it has done in the past when other reporters were subject to threats. The company should issue a statement condemning abuse of its reporters, allow Felicia to return to work, rescind whatever sanctions have been imposed and provide her with any resources she may request as she navigates this traumatic experience.

We also hope that Post management will work with the Guild to educate themselves on treatment of assault survivors and improve the social media policy so that employees can get back to the work we all want to be doing: journalism.

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Gobstoppers12 posted...

Alleged actions, for starters.

The retweeted article would go into all of the details of the case I'm sure.

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Now we wait to see if she gets banned or purged.

What was the point of tweeting (without context) a link to Kobe Bryant's rape allegations hours after his death, other than to say:

"I'm Glad He's Dead?"

Not only was it incredibly insensitive, but it added nothing to the media coverage. It wasn't apart of a larger story detailing his public persona. It was just a naked link to an article claiming Kobe to be a rapist in the midst of everyone's mourning. Her tweet did nothing but gaslight millions of grieving fans from around the world. It was incredibly unprofessional, and self-serving...which is insane. Seriously, it's insane how this person, regardless of her job title, is using this as a way to play victim. She made an insensitive remark at an inappropriate time, and decided to dox all of the users whom criticized you. Now she has the WAPO union writing an incredibly long letter in her support.

It annoys me how reporters always claim "public figure" but then try and claim victim when people get upset at their mudslinging. The thing is, social media is not an official channel - no matter how much they want it to be. Tweeting out the equivalent of "I'm glad Kobe Bryant is dead" before the bodies can even reach the morgue is not reporting facts in the midst of a greater story. Its just one person, with an insensitive opinion being an asshole. A journalist is not pardoned of any guilt for being a bad person, juts because of their job title. I'm tired of them hiding behind it.

"I'm allowed to slander Kobe Bryant because he's a celebrity, but if you criticize me for doing so then I'm a victim. I'm allowed to sling rocks, but you aren't allowed to throw them back because I am a reporter, not a public figure."

Seriously, shut the fuck up.

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Hop103 posted...

Good, the reporter is insensitive and possibly racist.

the fuck?

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Shouldn't get punished for retweeting an article. That's lame.
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also, 1300 active posts from Sterolizer - again, the fuck?


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Lol ive seen users here quoting thay daily beast article then turn around and disparage them cuz of politics x)

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Its like Kobes just a rapist to all these casuals

Hell even that kind and respectful Anita tweet lumps kobe as a basketball player and a rapist. Ignoring everything else kobe was. Gj waiting till he dies tragically to bring this up btw.

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MrMallard posted...

also, 1300 active posts from Sterolizer - again, the fuck?

I have my phone with me at all times, and I user GameFaqs over things like Facebook & Instagram?

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dolomedes posted...

wtf world were you guys living in where people never talked about him being a rapist????

It's just why bring it up now as soon as he dies? What is the point you're trying to make by bringing it up? That he had it coming? That we shouldn't feel sad or sympathetic? I'm genuinely curious what makes it so important to talk about right now while others in a time of mourning

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And yet Jennifer Rubin is still employed for this

https://thinkprogress.org/ombudsman-jen-rubin-supports-call-to-kill-palestinians-did-damage-to-wapo-credibility-da0a728fa60c/

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Gurifisu posted...

It's just why bring it up now as soon as he dies? What is the point you're trying to make by bringing it up? That he had it coming? That we shouldn't feel sad or sympathetic? I'm genuinely curious what makes it so important to talk about right now while others in a time of mourning

Because it's deeply offensive to rape victims to have all this coverage and talk of what a "great man" he was. If you can't get that or see that then you're seriously lacking in empathy and compassion. Solidarity with people who have been raped should come before your feelings on basketball.

I knew his allegation scandal would pop up after his death. The internet would never let that get buried.

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AlienLanes posted...

Because it's deeply offensive to rape victims to have all this coverage and talk of what a "great man" he was. If you can't get that or see that then you're seriously lacking in empathy and compassion. Solidarity with people who have been raped should come before your feelings on basketball.

He never raped anyone. Witnesses say the woman was openly bragging about her sexual encounter with Kobe Bryant days later. Hiding your racism with fake morality over a case you clearly didn't take the time to look into yourself doesn't make you less racist.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EPP7LeFUYAAGgWK?format=png&name=900x900

Truly we must consider the feelings of the long suffering demographic of *checks notes* "people who want to forget that someone committed a serious crime and bought their way out of prosecution".

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This whole "don't insult the dead and their loved ones by bringing up the past" is bullshit because it completely depends on personal opinions and how bad the person was.

Suleimani had people that loved him and no one minds celebrating his death because he was a bad guy war criminal.
In that one topic, people are talking about how no one will miss Anita Sarkeesian and that's okay because she's an annoying and opportunistic radfem. She's never committed a crime or killed anyone and she has people who would be upset if she died.

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GROWNFOLKS posted...

He never raped anyone. Witnesses say the woman was openly bragging about her sexual encounter with Kobe Bryant days later. Hiding your racism with fake morality over a case you clearly didn't take the time to look into yourself doesn't make you less racist.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EPP7LeFUYAAGgWK?format=png&name=900x900

Why the fuck are you bringing racism into this? That looks like it was sourced from a gossip rag. Let's remind you of a couple of the facts. Kobe had her blood on his shirt, medical examination showed she had been violently raped.

dolomedes posted...

wtf world were you guys living in where people never talked about him being a rapist????

This. I don't even follow the NBA and I knew about it. It was the butt of many jokes and pop culture references for years.
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