Why Kobe Bryant can’t get a shoe deal: He’s not “urban” enough. And he speaks Italian.
At the public courts on Venice Beach, the mention of Bryant’s name provokes mixed emotions ? not the urge to splurge on his footwear. After a spirited pickup game, Rich Baderinwa said he respects Bryant’s game but can’t see himself in Bryant’s shoes. He scoffed in particular at Bryant’s attempt at rapping. “His rap was whack,” said Baderinwa, 26, of Venice. “When he put out that CD, nobody bought it. And you know why nobody bought it? Because nobody bought him.”
One thought on “kobe bryant’s shoes”
Comments are closed.
The following quote from the LA times article is offensive and dissapointing. Have we still not gotten past stereotypes and dangerous assumptions/judgements?
“Ballers like Rich Baderinwa said they certainly respected Bryant’s game but felt culturally estranged from the star because he grew up in the suburbs, had lived a significant time overseas and once spoke Italian in an ad for his former shoe sponsor Adidas.”
I highly doubt Baderinwa feels ‘culturally estranged’ from Bryant as his upbringing was not so different. College degrees, privileged upbringing, residence in another country and a modeling career which included Hilfiger campaign. He was probably mortified when he read that.
ASSUME “ass out of you and me” .