Washington high school principal put on leave for attributing Kobe Bryant crash to ‘karma’

The principal of a high school in Washington state has been suspended after posting on Facebook that “karma” had caught up with basketball star Kobe Bryant after he was killed in a helicopter crash last month.

Camas High School principal Liza Sejkora was suspended this week, according to CNN, over a now-deleted Facebook post that read: “Not gonna lie. Seems to me that Karma caught up with a rapist today” on Jan. 26, the day of Bryant’s death.

Sekjora sent a letter to families in the school district apologizing for her “tasteless” post.

“On January 26 after news broke of Kobe Bryant’s death, I made a comment to my private social media which was a personal, visceral reaction,” she wrote. “I want to apologize for suggesting that a person’s death is deserved. It was inappropriate and tasteless. Further, I apologize for the disruption it caused to our learning environment today.

“While what I wrote was posted on a private Facebook account to people who are my friends and was quickly removed, I acknowledge that private does not always mean private,” she continued. “I love being principal at Camas High School. We have tremendous students, staff, and community. I’ve learned an important lesson and I hope that I can earn your trust back.”

In an interview with a local CNN affiliate, Sekjora added that her own “personal experience” caused a visceral reaction to Bryant’s death due to his past accusations of sexual assault.

“I have some personal experience that generated the visceral reaction,” she said. “This was a situation where I didn’t think before I posted, and I’m terribly regretful about that.”

School district superintendent Jeff Snell told KATU that Sekjora’s remarks “did not meet [the] standard” set for educators in the district, but added that staff would support her as she worked to earn back students’ and parents’ trust.

Bryant was charged with felony sexual assault in 2003 after a 19-year-old woman working in a Colorado hotel accused him of rape. Prosecutors ended up dropping the case after Bryant’s accuser declined to testify. She later brought a civil lawsuit against Bryant that was settled out of court.

Bryant said the two had sex but that it was consensual. He later acknowledged that the woman did not view the incident as consensual, and offered her an apology.

Updated: 4:15 p.m.