Tonight the Lakers have won another NBA Championship. Four years ago a very important piece of the championship puzzle was drafted. A gifted high school player named Kobe Bryant. He was something the Lakers have never had, a sex symbol. Yea, the women went wild over Magic, but he didn't have the matinee idol looks like Kobe. Women didn't act like they were at a concert when he made a fancy pass or an incredible shot like they do for Kobe. During the pre-game warm-ups, women in their early thirties or older scream at his every move just like teenage girls. These aren't your normal groupies, but regular women who had suddenly become interested in basketball. It is a site to see these women at Laker games. Many times they seem bored or disinterested during the game unless Kobe does something. Many times they would scream at the other Lakers to give Kobe the ball. When these women believed Kobe looked their way or made a spectacular move they would at like teenage girls.

Could you blame them for loving Kobe? He is tall, handsome, well traveled, has a killer smile that drives women wild, and he speaks Italian fluently. At work I noticed how the women in the office had Kobe posters, screen savers, mugs, and other paraphernalia. Then it happen. He announced that he was getting married. Hearts were broken through out the City. At first there was a big debate if he was too young to get married. Then a rumor circulated that his fiancée was white. A picture surfaced. Then all hell broke lose.

KJLH, Los Angeles only black owned radio station, was bombarded with black women complaining that Kobe was a traitor. Callers complained that all a black athlete wanted was a white woman. One caller blamed his parents for not instilling moral values in Kobe. Another caller complained that all the white women were marrying rich black men, thus inhibiting her chance of marrying into money. Many complained that when black men like Kobe married white women it made them fell ugly and unwanted. The complaints were steady and consistent. I was amused and discussed at the same time. I understood the commotion, but I actually thought the whole debate was a waste of energy.

I personally could only see myself with a black woman. And I really don't care who Kobe or anyone else marries, save my daughters (who are in middle school). I questioned the black women at my job who have taken down their Kobe posters and uninstalled their Kobe screen savers from their computers, "Why do you care? Why are you taking this so personally?" The same complaints that the callers gave on the radio were reiterated almost verbatim. I reminded them that in the whole scheme of things paying their rent, raising their children, their jobs, and a whole host of other issues were more important then who Kobe was marrying. This didn't sway their opinion one bit. Kobe is now non-grata with many black women.

Inter-racial marriages are not new. They're very common. If black women are the strong black queens and mother of civilization like many of them claim. Why do incidents like this unnerve them so, or make them feel ugly and unwanted? Let it go. Let's root for a well spoken, intelligent, articulate black man. So put the posters back up and reinstall the screen savers. I heard a rumor that his fiancée is mixed with black anyway. But, this could be a problem also. I can hear a new argument beginning now, "Why do black men prefer light skin black women over dark skin ones?"