CBS's " 48 Hours" tonight presents an interview with a former boyfriend of Kobe Bryant's accuser. We've seen advance clips. The young man, Johnray Strickland, states that the accuser asked him to present her side of the story because she feels she's being unfairly treated in the media. Among other details, Strickland says the accuser would love to see Kobe Bryant in jail; that she is definitely a victim and not just an accuser; that she was sexually assaulted by Kobe; and that the reason she went back to Kobe's room alone after getting off work that night was because she felt safe with him, primarily because she knew he was married. He also confirms her two prior overdoses on pills.

We hope people avoid watching the interview. Mr. Strickland wasn't there, didn't see anything, and is only repeating what the accuser told him and what she wants repeated. It's tabloid trash, not news, and we're suprised and disappointed a national network like CBS is running it.

Our legal view (as reported in today's Los Angeles Times):

The interview with a friend of Bryant's accuser that will air tonight on CBS' "48 Hours Investigates" is troubling to legal analysts, because Johnray Strickland said the woman asked him to go public.

"I'm appalled by it," said Jeralyn Merritt, a Colorado defense attorney. "It smacks of unfairness. We have no way of knowing that what she said to him is truthful."

The judge presiding over the case issued a gag order July 24, but it appears to apply only to attorneys and law enforcement officials — not to Bryant's accuser or other witnesses.

"She made a serious charge and should let it work through the courts," Merritt said. "If it doesn't violate the letter of the gag order, it violates the spirit."