On September 25th, TV icon Bill Cosby was sentenced to 3 to 10 years behind bars as his bail was denied. Judge Steven O'Neill of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania stated it best.
"Mr. Cosby, this has all circled back to you. The day has come, the time has come."
That Tuesday was simply inevitable. Dozens of women came out to speak against Cosby of a now convicted sexual assault of former Temple Women's Basketball employee Andrea Constand at his home in 2004. Not alleged. CONVICTED. Cosby now has to register as a "Violent Sexual Predator" and will take mandatory lifetime sex offender counseling. He must pay over $25,000 for the prosecution and (to add insult to injury) must notify his community that he is the sexual predator that lives there.
As a Black American who looked up to one of the greatest entertainers of all time, I am disappointed. I am sick to my stomach. In sorrow and in anger. The laughs you used to share with the world on the "Cosby Show," "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids," and plenty of comedic skits on stage that were clean and yet hilarious at the same time, have turned into outrage, sadness, and trauma from the dozens of women that Cosby affected.
Never would I ever imagine that a model father, inside and out, showing the country that a safe and fun black family home is possible, would commit something so heinous, monstrous, abhorrent, disgusting.
There is simply nothing he can do to save his legacy now. Many are frustrated that Cosby did not receive a more lengthy prison sentence. Personally, I believe 10 years will suffice, as Judge O'Neill has essentially burned down and obliterated everything Mr. Cosby has ever built.
Cosby is not Larry Nassar, who was sentenced a combined 300 years max for child pornography and 10 total counts of sexual assault (seven of them were minors) as a Physician at Michigan State. Cosby will be remembered for his assault for a very, very long time.
Bill Cosby the entertainer is now Bill Cosby the sexual predator.