Kobe Bryant apologizes after criticism for calling out a middle schooler on Instagram

Kobe Bryant’s trying hard to win over the internet after he seemed to chide a 7th grade basketball player on Instgram earlier this week.

Kia Morgan-Smith

Sep 12, 2019

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JULY 10: Kobe Bryant speaks onstage during The 2019 ESPYs at Microsoft Theater on July 10, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Kobe Bryant’s trying really hard to win over the internet after he seemed to chide a 7^th grader for missing a basketball game because she attended her dance recital instead.

Bryant got slammed on social media for being a “stage mom” of sorts, with people upset with how he addressed the girl, who is on his daughter’s basketball team. His comments were posted on Instagram.

Bryant said in part that the team got fourth place because “the 7^th player (not in the pic) missed this game for a dance recital so that should tell you where her focus was at the time.”

Easy there, daddy dearest!

View this post on Instagram

Here’s our fourth place “winners” picture lol six of the kids in the picture stayed with me and worked every single day to get better and continue to work to this day. The 7th player (not in pic) missed this game for a dance recital so that should tell you where her focus was at this time, meaning she enjoyed dance more than ball which is fine. Now? She eats sleeps and breaths the game. So from this original group of 7 we have added a player TWO years YOUNGER (6th grade now), a player who’s team in our area folded and a player who’s family moved here from Tennessee. The beauty of coaching is growing the players from the ground up. That journey continues #mambas #2yearsago

A post shared by Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) on Sep 11, 2019 at 12:03pm PDT

The retired Los Angeles Lakers player then backtracked after the social media wrath, and said he didn’t mean to offend with his initial message calling out the busy kid. He tried to clean up the caption by saying he meant, “…she enjoyed dance more than ball which is fine.”

“Sorry if it came across as a slight, trust me it wasn’t. I was just giving the reason for her not being in the pic,” he said.

But it was too late for Black Mamba who got stung on the internet for what many believed to be an unsympathetic attack on a kid.

The NBA champ has since apologized for his error in judgment for posting that message and then tried to connect with his fans by posting a video of him dancing when he was 12.

“When I was 12, I skipped basketball for two weeks so I could dance in a school show. I’m all about diversifying while young, then locking in on your passion.”

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When I was 12, I skipped basketball for two weeks so I could dance in a school show. I’m all about diversifying while young, then locking in on your passion. #neongreen #iceicebaby #mambaout

A post shared by Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) on Sep 12, 2019 at 1:16am PDT

If Bryant’s being this tough on girls (and he’s got four of them) we already know what challenges a future son if his might face.

Instead, even though he welcomed his fourth girl earlier this year, Bryant and his wife are already planning for baby number five with hopes that they will finally have a boy.

He told Extra in March, “I think [Vanessa] wants a boy more than I do. I love having girls — I’m super, super excited about that. She is as well. She wanted a boy so he can be mama’s boy forever — that sort of thing. We’ll see if I can deliver, I don’t know.”

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