The Negative Influence Of Kobe Bryant

Register to read the introduction… Firstly, many of Kobe’s current endorsements dropped him, including giants such as McDonald’s, Sprite, and even Nike (Biography Reference Bank 3). Furthermore, his so-called “clean” image was permanently tainted, which would be cause for even more problems, including those with his teammates Shaquille O’Neal on the Los Angeles Lakers and even with his own coach, Phil Jackson (“Kobe Bryant” Unofficial Fansite 3). Even Kobe’s business interests outside of his already dropped endorsements were completely ruined, just furthering his already destroyed image (“JockBio: Kobe Bryant Biography” 16). And if the strained endorsements and his struggling team wasn’t enough, Kobe’s marriage was also at risk. Indeed, Kobe Bryant was, in fact, married at the time of the sexual assault. However, Kobe was able to “restore” his already broken marriage by purchasing a $4 million diamond ring to cover up his wrong. Obviously, his wife accepted the multi-million dollar apology, and the two remained married (“JockBio” 17). Basically, Kobe Bryant’s image was permanently ruined. Most people were at a loss what to think of the formerly blameless, so-called “prodigy” anymore. People’s feelings were often split on their opinion of Bryant, and the vast majority of these people had a very negative outlook on the situation (“Kobe Bryant” 3). On the other hand, the fact that …show more content…
Immediately following the 2003 season, Kobe pushed his team to the playoffs two out of the next 3 years (Kobe at 30-- 4). Also, only 2 years after the misfortune, Kobe led the entire NBA in scoring for two straight seasons, and just a year following that he won his first league-wide MVP award (“Bryant, Kobe” 1). In the realm of endorsements he managed to restore his once-broken relationships with major companies like Nike and McDonalds, and he even began deals with them (“Kobe Bryant” Unofficial Fansite 2). Because of these endorsements, Kobe managed to earn about $16 million in endorsements alone in 2008 (Raftery 1) and was named the second most highly paid athlete according to the 2009 Forbe’s list (Biography Reference Bank 6). However, in the world of the NBA, Kobe and his team made it to the finals in the 2008-09 season, and they won the next two years (Kobe at 30 --1). Also, in the 2009 playoffs, Kobe was named the finals MVP, a very sought-after award for those participating in the championship series in the NBA (“Bryant, Kobe” 4). Outside of the NBA, Kobe Bryant was a member of the 2008 Olympic U.S. men’s basketball team in Beijing, where they proceeded to win the gold medal. Through all of these achievements, one can definitely see that Kobe Bryant has certainly made a comeback since 2003, and