Gil thinks Vanessa put Kobe’s parents in a situation where they were forced to auction his ring.
Despite the public uproar and disapproval, former NBA star Gilbert Arenas doesn’t see any issue with the auctioning made by Kobe Bryant’s parents of his 2000 Los Angeles Lakers championship ring.
“You can’t be mad at the parents on this one. I’m sorry, but you gotta understand [that] they broke. They got no money. You can’t be mad because they’re selling the rings. The money wasn’t left to them. They tryna eat,” he said.
Gil rips Vanessa
It’s worth noting that this isn’t the original ring Kobe won after helping the Lakers take down the Indiana Pacers in the 2000 NBA Finals. The 14K jewelry, crafted upon the request of the “Black Mamba” himself, was a gift to his dad, Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, who also played in the NBA from 1975 to 1983.
Nevertheless, the auction drew criticism from the basketball community and especially the Los Angeles fanbase. But according to Arenas, the parents are just only trying to make ends meet. That’s why “Agent Zero” thinks Vanessa Bryant should get the blame for her lack of initiative.
“It’s her job to call them to take that off their hands because they’re obviously just trying to survive. And [Vanessa] is just sitting over there with the grandkids, billion-dollar industry. All they have is their son’s legacy, and when you’re trying to pay bills and eat, that legacy don’t mean anything,” Gil said.
“So once she sees it hit the net when it hit the auction, she should have brought that check, bring that back to the house and then say, ‘Anything you got over there, that belongs to your son, it belongs to his kids, and we will take that off your hands,'” he added.
Kobe’s parents vs. Vanessa
The tensions between Vanessa and Kobe’s parents started after the two got engaged at an early age. After Joe and Pam didn’t attend their wedding, it became clear they didn’t approve of their relationship.
“Joe did not approve,” Sports Illustrated’s Chris Ballard wrote. “The problem, according to the Los Angeles Times, was that Joe was ‘uncomfortable that Vanessa, a Latina, is not African-American, and he is uneasy with his selfless devotion to her.'”
After a sudden and tragic ending to Kobe’s life, there hasn’t been much said about whether Vanessa and Bryant’s parents buried the hatchet.
The auction for the ring will end on March 31, with the highest bid so far being $94,000.
