But Eagle deputies didn't purchase 'souvenir' of case

By Peggy Lowe, Rocky Mountain News
November 6, 2003

Eagle County sheriff's officers wanted to order T-shirts with a hangman drawing on the front and jokes about Kobe Bryant's marital infidelity on the back.

"There were some people interested in the T-shirt as a memento or as a souvenir," Eagle County Sheriff Joe Hoy said Wednesday.

But when the officers discovered the profits from the shirts wouldn't go to a battered women's shelter - which they initially believed - the officers didn't order the shirts.

Hoy said he wouldn't allow anyone in his office to wear the shirts on the job, but he had no problem with his staff wearing them on their own time.

"I cannot tell my officers what they can and cannot buy. I have said, 'In no way, shape or form (is it) part of our uniform,' " Hoy said.

"If they decide to go in their back yard and dig a hole in their garden with it on, I could care less."

A black lawmaker and defense attorneys were shocked when told of the staffers' interest in the shirts.

"It seems grossly insensitive at best," said Rep. Terrance Carroll, D-Denver. "I think it's a lack of judgment on behalf of the sheriff, given the sensitivity of the case and given that one of the undercurrents of this case really is an issue of race."

Jeralyn Merritt, a Denver defense attorney, said the T-shirt issue might help Bryant's attorneys if they intend to try to move the trial from Eagle. Potential jurors shouldn't see sheriff's officers wearing shirts that mock Bryant, she said.

"It strips the sheriff's department of any integrity. These officers are sworn to uphold the law, not to make a mockery of it," Merritt said. "They can't get away with saying this is just in jest."

Eagle County sheriff's officers investigated the sexual assault charges filed against Bryant and continue to assist the district attorney's office in prosecuting the Los Angeles Lakers star.

Bryant denies the rape claim and says the June 30 sexual encounter was consensual. He may enter a plea during an appearance next week in district court in Eagle.

A company called hangmantees.com is offering two black T-shirts with a Bryant theme. They're found under the "fallen heros (sic)" section of the company's Web site.

One of the shirts has Bryant's No. 8 on the back with the words, "I'm not a rapist; I'm just a cheater." The other lists the costs of Bryant's trip to Eagle County and ends with: "Not bringing your wife to Colorado with you - priceless."

The sheriff's office was given two of the shirts by the company on Oct. 9, the first day of Bryant's preliminary hearing in Eagle, said Kim Andree, the sheriff's spokeswoman. They will be kept for the department's archive, she said.

Last month, an officer e-mailed hangmantees.com, inquiring about buying some of the shirts, Andree said. But when the officer was told that the money wouldn't go to a battered women's group, officers decided against buying them because they didn't want anyone to profit from such a shirt, she said.

Hoy said he felt the media were "making a mountain out of a molehill" about the shirts.

"One of them says, 'I'm not a rapist, I'm a cheater.' (The shirt) is making fun of us. He's already admitted he's a cheater, he's not a rapist," Hoy said. "Where's the issue here?"

lowep@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5482

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