The criminal case against Kobe Bryant case collapsed Wednesday as prosecutors dropped the sexual assault charge against him, saying they had no choice because the NBA star’s accuser no longer wanted to participate.

Bryant, whose trial had been days from opening arguments, responded with an apology to the woman who had accused him and whose civil suit for damages is still pending.

“Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did,” Bryant said. “I now understand how she feels that she did not consent to this encounter.”

The woman’s attorney, John Clune, said she has been through an extremely difficult time since she alleged she was raped, and that she was disturbed by a series of courthouse mistakes that included release of her name and medical history. She has been the subject of death threats and relentless media coverage in the high-profile case.

“It is in her sincere belief that when this case ends, she does not want to be brought back into the criminal process,” Clune said.

“The difficulties that this case has imposed on this woman the past year are unimaginable.”

The dismissal marks a dramatic but not entirely unexpected turn in the high-profile case against one the NBA’s brightest young stars. For months, prosecutors had insisted they had a strong enough case to win a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt, but legal experts said their case was greatly weakened when Bryant’s attorneys convinced the judge to allow some evidence about his accuser’s sexual history.

A foot short with the baton. Eight inches short in the sand.

Hoping to win a pair of gold medals Friday, Marion Jones was shut out instead. After finishing fifth in the long jump, a botched relay handoff ended her chances of winning even a single medal in Athens — a disastrous finish to her tumultuous summer.

“It was an extremely disappointing performance for me. It exceeded my wildest dreams in a negative sense,” Jones said. “I looked for great things this year. It didn’t happen for me and it didn’t happen for the team this year.”

Jones was trying to do in a few hours what few elite athletes can achieve in a lifetime — win two Olympic medals, one on the track and one on the field.

With the fastest time in the world this year, the U.S. 400-meter relay team had taken gold for granted and was aiming for a world record. But they could only watch as Jamaica won in 41.73 seconds. Russia won the silver medal in 42.27, and France got the bronze in 42.54.

Jones, running the second leg an hour after her final long jump, was close to the lead as she approached Lauryn Williams, the 100-meter silver medalist. But Williams started running her leg too soon. Jones reached once, then shouted “Wait up! Wait up!” as she reached a second time.

Williams was left grasping at air while Jones reached desperately for her younger teammate.

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The Americans won’t be the Olympic basketball champions for the first time since 1988, beaten by an Argentine team that lacks stars but simply knows how to play together better.

Manu Ginobili scored 29 points to lead Argentina to an 89-81 victory in the semifinals Friday night, humbling the nation where the game was invented and perfected.

Bronze is now the best the Americans can do with their hastily assembled assortment of NBA stars that showed weaknesses almost from the moment it began practicing in late July, a month after its opponents.

Indeed, the Dream Team days are long gone. It’s the first time since pro players were added for the 1992 Olympics that the United States will not go home with gold.

“We fought as hard as we could,” Allen Iverson said. “We couldn’t get it done for whatever reason. They were a better team than us.”

Quarterback Quincy Carter signed with the New York Jets on Tuesday, three weeks after his surprising release by Dallas.

Carter, who started every game for the Cowboys last season, was released Aug. 4, before the team’s first exhibition game. Reports said he failed a drug test and the NFL Players Association has filed a request for arbitration in the case.

Gene Upshaw, the union’s executive director, told The Associated Press that the NFLPA will continue to press the case. “We have to,” he said, adding that part of the grievance involves potential salary loss to Carter.

With the Jets, Carter will back up Chad Pennington, giving the team an experienced second-stringer. Neither of the other two quarterbacks, second-year man Brooks Bollinger nor Ricky Ray, who played in the Canadian Football League, has ever taken an NFL snap.

Ironically, Carter; successor is 40-year-old Vinny Testaverde, who was released this spring by the Jets after starting 57 games in six seasons.

Carter, a second-round draft choice by the Cowboys in 2001, started all 31 games in which he played for Dallas, including 17 last season — 16 in the regular season and one in the playoffs. In his career, he has 507 completions in 902 attempts for 5,839 yards with 29 touchdowns and 36 interceptions.

Known for his mobility, he has run 140 times for 498 yards.

AP Football Writer Dave Goldberg contributed to this report.