Vanessa Bryant objects to apparent leak of Nike tribute shoes

by Cameron Jenkins - 06/03/21 4:13 PM ET

Vanessa Bryant, the widow of NBA star Kobe Bryant, voiced her frustration on Instagram on Thursday over the apparent leak of a shoe she designed in honor of her late daughter, Gianna Bryant.

Bryant slammed Nike in an Instagram post for seemingly producing the shoe, which was to be a part of Kobe Bryant’s shoe line, without her approval and allowing them to be in the possession of someone other than her or her family.

“The MAMBACITA shoes are NOT approved for sale,” wrote Bryant. “I wanted it to be sold to honor my daughter with ALL of the proceeds benefitting our @mambamambacitasports foundation but I did not re-sign the Nike contract to sell these shoes. (The MAMBACITA shoes were not approved to be made in the first place.).”

Bryant described the shoes as having a black and white colorway and featuring an inside pattern with butterflies, wings and halos.

In her Instagram post, she also included a photo of the shoe, which appears to be in the hands of an undisclosed third party.

“Nike has NOT sent any of these pairs to me and my girls. I do not know how someone else has their hands on shoes I designed in honor of my daughter, Gigi and we don’t. I hope these shoes did not get sold,” Bryant wrote.

The Hill reached out to Nike for comment.

The Bryant family decided not to renew their partnership with Nike in April after an extension offer was allegedly offered that they felt was not comparable to the contracts of other NBA stars such as Michael Jordan and LeBron James.

NBA legend Kobe Bryant was killed last year in a helicopter crash outside Los Angeles along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven other people.

Tags Gianna Bryant Kobe Bryant Nike Vanessa Bryant