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Just sayin'.
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The difference between Bryant and Johnson's treatment by fans and the media is the perfect lens through which to examine the larger and core issue. That is, how we perceive our athletes.
Could it be that Bryant is forgiven more quickly by the public because he has a softer image, one more palatable to mainstream America?
There are no gold teeth dancing with Bryant's molars or butchering of the language. Bryant is smoother in front of the camera and more polished while someone like Johnson isn't.
People believe they don't judge an athlete by the superficial but that's just not so.
If it was true we would see two players like Johnson and Bryant as being the same guy but I'll bet most people see Johnson as a creep and Bryant as a good dude.
There are other cases where the Bad Guy Playbook seems to confuse. Joba Chamberlain -- Joba the Strut -- pumps his fist obnoxiously after routine plays. If a hitter duplicated The Strut he'd be vilified as a showoff.
"If he wants to yell and scream after a strikeout and dance around the mound, that's what gets him going," said Cleveland's David Dellucci about the hot dog Chamberlain following one recent game. "My home run was in a much bigger situation, a much more key part of the game, but I didn't dance around and scream.
"If a hitter did something like that, everybody would say it was bush and that you shouldn't do that. It's kind of funny how a pitcher can get away with it.
"That's just not the Yankee way, what Joba did. Let everyone else do that stuff, but not a Yankee," recently elected Hall of Famer Goose Gossage told the Record newspaper in New Jersey. "What I don't understand is, the kid's got the greatest mentor in the world in Mariano [Rivera]. He's one of the leaders of the team, so you'd think it wouldn't happen on that team.
"But there's no one to pass the torch anymore, no one to teach the young kids how to act. The Mets did a lot of that [celebrating] last year, and look how it came back to haunt them."
The Bad Guy Playbook also fails to explain why when NBA players get in brawls they're called thugs and the fan outrage is nuclear. But when baseball players, hockey players or NASCAR drivers get in fights it's considered part of the game and fan outrage is muted.
The uber-forgiveness of Bryant is something incredible to watch, particularly since everyone knows the moment something goes wrong the good guy Bryant will quickly revert back to petulant Bryant. Usually the media punishes a player in perpetuity for acting like a selfish cad (the way Johnson will be). Bryant however has the best deflector shield I've ever seen.
If he reaches the NBA Finals the Bryant slobbering will only get worse and so will the amnesia.
So, I ask again, explain the difference between Bryant and Johnson.
Should I pass you the Playbook?