It’s been four-and-a-half years since the tragic helicopter crash that claimed the life of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others. For many, enough time has passed to make it acceptable to trash-talk the Black Mamba.
One such case is Bryant’s former friend, Kevin Sanchez, who in an April interview with Blood on the Razor Wire, accused Kobe of being a “piece of (expletive)” for not helping him in a time where he needed to get back on his feet.
Sanchez explained that he once waited outside the Lakers’ practice facility in the rain to talk to him and after a “weird” conversation, Kobe gave him a phone number and said he’d “be in touch.”
“Look man, I don’t want no hand-outs, I don’t want no money, I don’t want (expletive),” Sanchez said he told Kobe. “Here’s what I need you to do…all I want to do is go back with you, you get me out there in LA somewhere, put me with somebody where I can make my own money, you just get me in and I’m working for somebody on something, a business, anything to benefit myself. I don’t want nothing free, I don’t want to do nothing but work for it.”
But the number Kobe allegedly gave Sanchez instead went to an assistant who was unable to help him and after that the two never spoke again. He said that he later spoke to a cousin of Kobe who referred to him as “a certified piece of (expletive)” who “never did nothing for nobody” – not even family.
“This is when I really found out he was a piece of (expletive),” Sanchez said.
But Sanchez further claimed that Kobe was a bad family man for having his sisters continue to work normal jobs even after building his empire.
The interview has been going viral again this week and fans are as unamused now as they were then:
“How he dealt with his family isn’t your business, and grown men looking for handouts should be ashamed,” one user wrote after seeing the video.
“Buddy isn’t humiliating anyone but himself…” wrote another.
“Bro woulda never said this while he was alive, and the crazier part is y’all believe this man can’t even defend himself,” a third wrote.
Kobe Bryant wasn’t perfect by any means. What he was accused of doing in 2003 remains one of the biggest blemishes on his career.
But it sounds like a personal grievance against Kobe isn’t going to win anyone over from the side that still loves him.
Related: Vanessa Bryant Shares Heartfelt Post Of Kobe, Gigi On Anniversary Of Their Death