Kobe Bryant is remembered as a family man after his tragic death alongside 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other victims in a helicopter crash Sunday, but the retired Los Angeles Lakers player reportedly still had a difficult relationship with his mom, Pamela Bryant, after appearing to mend fences with his dad Joe in the years following his 2016 retirement from the NBA.
According to ESPN, there was tension between Bryant and his parents initially after they refused to attend his 2001 wedding to wife Vanessa Bryant, but things really imploded in their relationship in 2013, when Joe and Pam tried to auction off his high school memorabilia without his consent.
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Bryant told ESPN in 2016 of his parents, “Our relationship is s—. I say [to them], ‘I’m going to buy you a very nice home,’ and the response is ‘That’s not good enough?’ Then you’re selling my s—?”
Bryant also sued Goldin Auctions, the company Joe and Pam used to sell the memorabilia, but they were able to settle before the case went to trial.
“We regret our actions and statements related to the Kobe Bryant auction memorabilia,” Joe and Pam said in a public statement at the time. “We apologize for any misunderstanding and unintended pain we may have caused our son and appreciate the financial support that he has provided to us over the years.”
Also in 2016, Bryant penned a letter to The Players’ Tribune hinting at continued difficulties with his parents, warning his 17-year-old self to “invest” in family and friends instead of giving to them.
“Purely giving material things to your siblings and friends may appear to be the right decision. You love them, and they were always there for you growing up, so it’s only right that they should share in your success and all that comes with it. So you buy them a car, a big house, pay all of their bills. You want them to live a beautiful, comfortable life, right?” he wrote.
Kobe continued: “The most important advice I can give to you is to make sure your parents remain PARENTS and not managers. Before you sign that first contract, figure out the right budget for your parents — one that will allow them to live beautifully while also growing your business and setting people up for long-term success. That way, your children’s kids and their kids will be able to invest in their own futures when the time comes.”
During his retirement ceremony in December 2017, Pam and Joe were not present, but shortly after Kobe’s death, his former coach and best friend of his father, Wayne Slappy, told The Daily Mail he saw them hugging at a recent event after making amends. He did not say the same of his mother.
“I just remember being with him up at his camp in Santa Barbara and seeing him hug his dad,” Slappy said. “You know how they loved each other from how they looked at each other, how they smiled.”
Photo credit: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
