Is there anything wrong with focusing on the man he became vs the man he was 15 years ago.
You will see and hear of many things he did for children and others in the coming days
The reason that some people are saying, "Right, he was a great basketball player, but..." are because his victim is out there watching all of this, and on what do you think she's focusing? (And before people say "alleged victim," remember that he said, "I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way [consensually]," thereby admitting it was rape before settling a civil suit - because one person consenting does not make it consensual.) Just a year and a half ago she was still having the NDA forced upon her, rather than being able to tell her story and find healing. So now you have people like Royce White (who is a joke at this point, looking for attention) going off on Twitter talking about how she was just making fake accusations, money-grubbing after a basketball star - and she can't even defend herself. That re-victimizes her again. Not a lot of people are going to be able to understand that, which is why the ones who do are trying to say, "Yes, let's honor what he did on the court, but maybe slow down the deification."
Kobe's public apology was far, far better than any we've seen come from the "Me Too" movement - it's honestly remarkable. He's, for presumably many reasons, attempted to shape up his life in many ways. But it's not hard to understand why some people are a touch hesitant to participate in the 24/7 mainstream and social media blast about it. Especially people who have been victimized/affected by violent and/or sexual crimes themselves.