Zarlak
my face causes global warming
As many people have said in this thread already, OJ Simpson wan't convicted yet we remember him as a murderer. Michael Jackson wasn't convicted yet we remember him as a child abuser. Because people's personal opinions don't have to hold to the same standard as a court system where certainty is required for conviction. Especially when it comes to a crime like rape, where only a tiny, tiny percentage of rapists are ever found guilty.
If you are accused of rape and your public defence of your actions involves admitting that the person you slept with didn't want to have sex with you then you're quite likely to be thought of as a rapist. Perhaps something Kobe should have considered when he had sex with the person who didn't want to have sex with him, or when he released the statement admitting that she didn't want to have sex with him, or when he made a large settlement as a result of having sex with someone who didn't want to have sex with him. What's really wrong in that scenario is how he behaved, not how the public reacted to his behavior. Because people are allowed to base their opinions on what likely happened.
If he was genuinely (albeit mistakenly) under the impression at the time that it was consensual - which neither you or I know, then this isn't physically possible.