Oprah | Studio23 | 06.24.2004

Flipping through the channels I came across archive footage of Kobe Bryant's press conference regarding the rape charges against him, in which his wife Vanessa is rubbing his hand, playing the supportive wife. Curiosity got the better of me, because I wanted to see the reaction of this young, nubile woman to the allegations that her husband sexually assaulted another woman. Oprah's show was about infidelity.

Joining Oprah were other NBA wives who experienced their husbands' infidelities, namely James Worthy's ex-wife and Kenny Anderson's ex-wife, as well as other women who were victims of their husbands' infidelities, and some husbands who were unfaithful in the past. Worthy's wife learned about her husband's infidelity on the headline news when he was caught for soliciting prostitution; Anderson's wife caught him in another woman's room on a hunch.

In my opinion, there were too many things happening at the same time; there were the two NBA wives, who were later relegated to the background, then there were the couples who were trying to work it out, and then there was a marriage counselor, amid audience participation and pre-taped interviews with adulterous husbands and suffering wives. At one point, things got really out of hand when everyone started talking at once; and although Oprah was able to keep things at bay--testament to her quick thinking and skill--the episode lost some of its coherence at some time.

It was good to see something like this being tackled though. It was done very intelligently, albeit quite emotionally, and siding with the wronged wives. What do you expect from a daytime show mainly geared towards women? It could have been handled better, but then maybe it's the cynic in me talking.