BACK KOBE FOR RIGHT REASONS.

Byline: KEVIN MODESTI

Of all the emotions that will be inspired by the matter of the State of Colorado, County of Eagle vs. Kobe Bean Bryant, perhaps none will prove as gut-twisting to me as the first.

I feel guilty for hoping Kobe Bryant is not guilty.

Should I?

Should you?

Should all the people who heard the prosecutor spell out possible sentences and said, ``Don't let Kobe go to prison!''?

These are hard questions to ask yourself.

If you wish the rape charges had never been filed, does that mean you've too-casually dismissed the possibility Bryant's accuser is telling the truth? If you hope the prosecution folds before going to trial, does that mean you'd relish a trash-the-victim defense? If you hope a trial would result in a swift acquittal, does that mean you're a Lakers die-hard with skewed priorities who wants Bryant's 30.0 points in the lineup this season? If you hope the benefit of the doubt goes to the defendant, does that mean you're blinded by Bryant's celebrity? If you hope it turns out that what happened between him and a 19-year-old Colorado woman late last month was adulterous but not criminal, does that mean you're a hero-worshiper desperate to hold onto a shred of the good-guy image Bryant and his endorsement clients have manufactured?

A week ago - at which point Bryant had been accused but not yet formally charged - I would have put those scolding questions to anybody who blurted out the hope that the Lakers guard would be able to avoid conviction and incarceration.

But then Friday came, the charges were announced, and the possibility of watching Bryant get led away to prison for four years or for life became too real to ignore.

I found myself hoping to gosh that he gets out of this somehow.

And now I'm putting those scolding questions to myself.

After an adult lifetime of proud political correctness, have I turned into one of those blowhards who can't let justice take its course before choosing a side for all the wrong reasons? Am I rushing to judgment? Am I slighting the avowed victim? Mistaking the defendant's image for reality?

I'd like to believe good people can root for Kobe Bryant for the right reasons.

The tragedy, if Bryant went to prison, would have nothing to do with the Lakers or Nike or star power. It would have everything to do with the shame of seeing a 24-year-old's charmed life ruined, of seeing a bright future dim behind prison walls, of seeing someone so equipped with physical talent and brains to bring joy to himself and his family and his city throw that away. It would have everything to do with the sad implications of seeing a man in whom so many people had so much faith let them all down. It would have everything to do with the depressing thought that if this guy could screw himself up so badly then there's no hope for the rest of us.

Now, it might be demonstrated in the months leading up to the trial that Kobe Bryant isn't as decent or smart as we thought. Perhaps, it will be shown that this adulterous incident was one of many for an arrogant celebrity just asking for trouble or a violent side might be revealed. In which case our emotions might turn.

I hope that in the he-said, she-said trial to come, the ``he'' and the ``she'' both get fair shakes. I hope stereotype and image don't enter into the verdict either way. I hope that if the sex-assault charge can be proven, Bryant gets punished, and if it can't, he walks.

But when it gets right down to it, my gut wants him to walk.

It's troubling that among the e-mail messages on this subject that I've received from readers in recent days, the lamest have come from Kobe supporters.

One person, spelling it ``Kobi,'' asked: ``Does the (hotel) have rules and regulations for employees regarding going to guests' rooms?'' As if to make the ridiculous suggestion the woman was asking for it if she went to his room against hotel rules.

Another man asked: ``Since when is `adultery' a crime?'' He went on: ``Kobe is innocent, his marriage will survive, and the Lakers will take the championship.'' I wonder if he cares most about the first, the second or the third prediction.

Yes, there are all sorts of bad reasons to root for Kobe Bryant this summer.

Choose the good ones.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Lakers guard Kobe Bryant sits with his wife, Vanessa, on Friday. Fans should look within themselves for why they hope he is found not guilty.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer

(2) If you hope a trial would result in an acquittal, does that mean you're a Lakers fan who just wants Kobe Bryant's 30.0 points in the lineup this season?

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press