Vanessa Bryant is FED UP with Nike!
Kobe Bryant’s widow wanted to pay homage to her daughter Gianna with a particular Mambacita sneaker, but Nike seemingly messed up plans. Vanessa went off on social media after the company apparently released the shoe without her permission.
Vanessa went off and spoke out on social media. She said,
“This is a shoe I worked on in honor of my daughter, Gianna. It was going to be called the MAMBACITA shoe as an exclusive black and white colorway on her daddy’s shoes. I picked the colors in honor of her uniform, the number 2 she wore just like her uniform, the inside pattern, Kobe ad Gigi on the back in gold instead of Kobe’s signature, the inside shoe details (butterfly, wings, halo), etc. The MAMBACITA shoes are NOT approved for sale.” She continues,
“I did not re-sign the Nike contract and decided not to sell those shoes. (The MAMBACITA shoes were not approved to be made in the first place). Nike has NOT sent any of these pairs to my girls and me. I do not know how someone else has their hands on shoes I designed [to honor] my daughter, Gigi, and we don’t. I hope these shoes did not get sold. @Nike.”
Hasn’t Vanessa Bryant been through enough already? Nike got some explaining to do. pic.twitter.com/jmk4Z1heYP
— Sharvon⁷, CPP: ForeverArtist (@sharvondotcom) June 3, 2021
Vanessa asked if the unidentified person who has the shoe could reveal how they got it. She also said no one in her family received a pair.
This comes to a blow, especially since Vanessa is mourning the loss of her husband and daughter. She also cut ties with Nike a few months ago and didn’t renew Kobe’s contract.
Gigi tragically died with her dad and seven others in a helicopter crash back in January 2020. Before the tragedy, they were on their way to a basketball tournament. Kobe and Gigi had a special bond through their love for basketball. Gigi was posthumously honored at the 2020 WNBA draft.