Kobe Bryant’s wife Vanessa Bryant has slammed Nike after new sneakers appear to have been made without her authorization. Vanessa has alleged that she never gave permission for the sneakers, designed in honor of her daughter Gianna, and has called on Nike to halt all sales.
Gianna and Kobe both tragically died in a helicopter crash in January 2020, along with seven others, and Vanessa has now revealed that although she had been in talks with the sports brand she had ultimately chosen not to go ahead with the sneaker.
“This is a shoe I worked on in honor of my daughter, Gianna,” Vanessa shared. “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 [basketball] uniform, the number 2 she wore just like her uniform, the inside pattern, Kobe and Gigi on the back in gold instead of Kobe’s signature, the inside shoe details (butterfly, wings, halo), etc.”
Vanessa added: “Nike has NOT sent any of these pairs to me and my girls. I do not know how someone else has their hands on the shoes I designed in honor of my daughter, Gigi and we don’t. I hope these shoes do not get sold. @nike.”
The mom also revealed that the original intentions of the Mambacita shoe were for all proceeds to benefit the sports foundation she had launched after their passing, which aims to support underserved athletes and women in communities across America.
However Vanessa did not resign Kobe’s years-long contract he had with Nike and she shared that she “decided not to sell these shoes. (The MAMBACITA shoes were not approved to be made in the first place).”
Pictures of the shoe were shared online by sneaker fans.
“In the 2nd photo, it appears someone already has Gigi’s MAMBACITA shoe in their possession. If someone can share how they have these shoes in their possession, that would be great because my daughters and I don’t have any of Gigi’s MAMBACITA shoes,” Vanessa added as a caption.
