Vanessa Bryant slammed Shams Charania of The Athletic on Monday for falsely calling Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan the ‘face’ of Kobe Bryant‘s Nike line.
She stressed that the only face of the Nike line is her husband, the late, great Kobe Bryant.
Charania had tweeted the breaking news of DeRozan signing a new four-year deal with Nike.
The reporter went on to say that the new deal ‘keeps him [DeRozan] as the featured face of Kobe Bryant’s iconic line.’
Kobe’s widow did not take the comments lightly, saying that she or Nike are the only ones who can announce a ‘face’ to the line.
Vanessa Bryant deletes comment
In the since-deleted Instagram comments, Vanessa calls Charania’s report ‘misinformation.’
“LOVE that he [DeRozan] is a Kobe supporter but the caption is false,” Vanessa wrote. “It’s misinformation. Only Kobe is the face of his line.
“If that changes in the future, then I’m sure Nike and I will release a statement announcing it.”
Since Kobe’s passing, Vanessa has been highly protective of his NBA legacy and overall brand, so it’s no surprise that she’s quick to dismiss any false claims.
