Kobe says Nance tweet 'water under the bridge'
Lakers star Kobe Bryant said he has communicated with one of the team’s first-round draft picks, Larry Nance Jr., about a tweet Nance posted in 2012 that referred to a sexual-assault case involving Bryant.
Nance’s tweet, which was deleted within minutes of his selection by the Lakers with the 27th overall pick Thursday, read: “Gee I sure hope Kobe can keep his hands to himself in Denver this time.” It also included the hashtag “#rapist.”
Later Thursday night, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said the team had spoken to the former University of Wyoming forward about the tweet and that it was something Nance and Bryant needed to talk about between themselves.
However, speaking at the BET Experience held at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles on Saturday night during a sit-down interview with ESPN’s Jemele Hill, Bryant said “there’s no need” for any further discussion about the matter.
“The kid figured it out himself,” Bryant said. “He’s a kid, man. He actually sent me a great message [Friday]. Which is really funny, I looked at it [the message] and it was like, ‘This is when you know it’s about time to hang these things up, when your teammate writes you, Hi, Mr. Bryant.’
“I was like, ‘What the f—?’ But it was really nice and apologetic about what had happened. I said, ‘Dude, listen. We’ve all said things and done things that we regret and wish we could take back. It’s water under the bridge, man. Welcome to the team.’ He writes back, ‘Thank you, sir.’ “
Bryant was involved in a 2003 sexual-assault case in Colorado. A woman accused him of raping her in his hotel room. All charges were dropped after she refused to testify. A civil suit was later settled, and Bryant publicly apologized, though he admitted no guilt in the matter.
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