Page 89 - You - South Africa (February 2020)

LEFT: Kobe
‘They
were on
their way
to the
game
they
loved’
The allegation cost him sponsorship
deals with McDonald’s and Coca-
Cola, and sales of his Lakers jersey
plummeted. zine in 2000 at the age of 21, thanks to a
It had a profound effect on Kobe and
he started to call himself Black Mamba,
which he said was inspired by watching
the film Kill Bill: Volume 2. Giorgio Armani.
Nike, the only sponsor not to ditch
him, launched a snake-inspired logo and
signature Black Mamba sneakers.
But his attitude on the court also
changed. He started to swear, mocked
his teammates, cursed at Lakers staff
and refused to pass the ball during play.
In 2011 he was fined $100 000 (then
R660 000) for shouting a homophobic
slur at a referee, for which he later
apologised.
In one interview he explained some of
his reinvention following the rape allega-
tions. “I said, ‘You know what? I’m just
GALLO IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES, REALTIME IMAGES, BACKGRID/GREATSTOCK
going to be me.’ F**k it. If I don’t like
a question from a reporter, I’m going to
say it. If they ask me a question about
this thing [the rape allegation], I’m just
going to tell them the truth.”
NYTHING Kobe did was
bound to make headlines,
whether good or bad.
He started to play profes-
sionally at age 17, fresh out of
A school.
high
The son of former NBA player Joe Bry-
coaches Gianna
during a game at
the Mamba
Sports Academy
a day before their
tragic death.
RIGHT: Kobe with
his wife, Vanessa,
and daughters
(from left) Gi-
anna, Bianka and
Natalia in 2017
when the Lakers
retired his
jerseys.
ant signed a $3,5m (then about R12,6m)
contract with the Lakers in 1996.
He was on the cover of Forbes maga-
six-year,$71m(thenaboutR590m)play-
ingcontractandsponsorshipdealswith
Adidas, Mattel, Sprite, Spalding and
Hisinterestsinbusinessbeganin2013
when he co-founded the venture capital
firmBryantStibelwithweb.comfounder
Jeff Stibel. The firm has more than $2
billion (R29bn) in assets, with invest-
ments in technology, media and data
companies.
Kobe also made millions of dollars
on his investment in sports drink Body-
armor, which is partly owned by
Coca-Cola.
It was around this time he launched
a lawsuit against his mom, Pamela,
when she tried to auction his childhood
items.
Their relationship was already fraught
with tension because Joe and Pamela
disapproved of Kobe’s marriage to
Vanessa in 2001. They reportedly made
peace when Kobe’s first daughter was
born.
His relationship with Vanessa was also
sometimes rocky. She filed for divorce in
2011 but they reconciled later that year.
Two months ago he shared an image
on Instagram with the caption, “On this
day 20 years ago I met my best friend, my
The site of the
crash where Kobe,
Gianna and seven
others perished.
The helicopter was
flying in thick fog
when it went down
in Calabasas,
California.
Queen @vanessabryant. I decided to
take her on a date to Disneyland tonight
to celebrate old school style (pre 4prin-
cesses). I love you my Mamacita per sem-
pre.”
Kobe, who retired in 2016, looked for-
ward to a bright future. That year he
founded Granity Studios, a media com-
pany which focuses on storytelling
around sports. Granity produced Dear
Basketball and published Kobe’s auto-
biography, The Mamba Mentality: How
I Play, as well as young adult and chil-
dren’s books.
And, of course, he was focused on
coaching Gianna’s team. Their last mo- SOURCES: NYTIMES.COM, THEGUARDIAN.COM, GQ.COM, USATODA Y.COM, BBC.COM, TMZ.COM, BUSINESSINSIDER.COM, PAGESIX.COM, WASHINGTONPOST.COM, ESPN.COM
ments were spent in that helicopter on
their way to the game they loved.
Kobe never saw the mode of transport
as flashy. As JR Moehringer wrote in GQ
magazine in 2010, “It’s a nice dash of
glitz, a touch of showbiz that goes well
with the Hollywood sign in the hazy dis-
tance.
“But sexy as it might seem, [he] says
the helicopter is just another tool for
maintaining his body. It’s no different
than his weights or his whirlpool tubs or
his custom-made Nikes.
“Given his broken finger, his fragile
knees, his sore back and achy feet, not to
mention his chronic agita (heartburn),
Bryant can’t sit in a car for two hours.”
Sadly, this expensive tool has cost him
his life. S
you.co.za 6 FEBRUARY 2020 | 87