Attorneys for Kobe Bryant have asked a federal judge to lift the anonymity of the woman accusing the basketball star of rape, reports the Associated Press. Bryant says she shouldn’t be able to bring a “false accusation” in a civil lawsuit without being identified. “The plaintiff’s desire to have it both ways – preserving her anonymity while exposing the intimate details of her sexual encounter with Mr. Bryant and requiring him to bear alone the burden of constant public scrutiny – suggests that her” lawsuit is more about putting pressure on the basketball star than anything else, the attorneys said.
“Her anonymity, such as it is, is in the hands of the media,” the defense said. Attorneys for a dozen news organizations have objected to requests by the woman’s attorneys to seal documents in the civil case. On Monday, the Rocky Mountain News called for keeping the proceedings open. “The News and most other media organizations to date have exercised their editorial judment and not published her name,” the newspaper’s attorneys said. “However, in continuing to report on the plaintiff’s civil claim against Mr. Bryant, the News may determine to use the parties’ names as it would in other civil proceedings.”
Link: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2004-10-04-bryant-accuser_x.htm