Critique #2: "We Have To Tell The Whole Truth About Kobe Bryant"

Let’s take a moment to register that this opinion piece about Kobe Bryant was written 24 hours after his death in the helicopter crash. In those 24 hours, Kobe’s wife Vanessa Bryant had to hear the devastating news that she not only lost her husband but her daughter too.

The theme of this piece was on Kobe Bryant’s legacy. Its angle was directed at his past for when he was accused of raping a woman many years ago. She beings the article with praise towards Kobe’s legacy and the people that passed away in the crash, but then proceeds to go into detailed evidence about the rape case.

For starters, I do agree that the structure of this piece and what it incorporated followed most of the guidelines for an opinion piece. She gathered statistics and information to back up her argument, but what lost me is, what exactly was her clear argument? She goes back and forth in the piece about whether we should remember Kobe Bryant as this great legacy or how we should recognize his wrongdoings and how other people might be feeling during this time.

The lead gets you to think she is going to talk about the accident and his legacy, but then she hits you with the kicker. I think the kicker was really strong because she created emphasis. She grabs your attention by separating the main point and asking a question. “You know the and also, don’t you? That Kobe Bryant was accused of raping a woman?” This allows you to wonder and want to read more. This is where I became interested because I was not aware of this incident.

The flow of the piece throughout the article was clear and the transitions were smooth. She created emphasis in one of her paragraphs by asking multiple questions to get you wondering. Her transition from Kobe’s extraordinary ability and then going into the 19-year old girl at the hotel was very well done. This is another point that made me want to keep reading.

The part where she began to lose me started at her comment, “no person is an island”. She makes these analogies that have you wonder where she is going with her point. The way she wrapped up the article was weak. The end was more of a broad statement to what she believes. She should have wrapped up her main point of the story, which is Kobe, not references to hero’s and villains. It’s good that she incorporates these analogies to get you to understand her thoughts, but I almost think it was too much.

A fallacy that came to mind when I finished reading the piece was the straw man fallacy. This occurs when someone appears to be refuting the original point made but is actually arguing a point that was initially made. The reason I say this is because towards the end of the article I was questioning her argument.

Overall, I think the article was well-done content-wise, but I personally did not agree with it. I think it is awful that it was written 24 hours after his death reflecting on his wrongdoing in the past. People make mistakes. I don’t object to telling the whole story of Kobe’s life, but to bring this up so quickly after the loss of his life is ridiculous to me. This just goes to show the reason for it being an opinion piece. People will agree or disagree, and everyone can have their own views, but to write such negativity so soon after anyone’s death is disrespectful.

Beyond the meaning of this article, the piece itself was well structured and followed the element of keeping me interested. It could have used a clearer angle and a better ending but as a whole, it hit the main aspects of an opinion piece.

Article: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jillfilipovic/opinion-remember-all-of-kobe-bryant