Kobe Moving on from Rookie’s Tweet
LOS ANGELES, June 27 (UPI) — First-round draft pick Larry Nance Jr. may have sprinted to the keyboard to delete a tweet from 2012 after being drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers.
But Nance Jr. couldn’t get there fast enough, after being selected No. 27 overall Thursday in the 2015 NBA Draft.
Nance Jr.’s tweet read: “Gee I sure hope Kobe can keep his hands to himself in Denver this time,” and included the hashtag “#rapist.”
The tweet related to the Lakers living legend Kobe Bryant‘s 2003 sexual-assault case in Colorado. Bryant’s charges were dropped when a woman refused to testify. Bryant would later apologize publicly but never admitted guilt.
After speaking with the Lakers, general manager Mitch Kupchak, and Bryant, it appears the water is smooth between all parties.
“The kid figured it out himself,” Bryant told ESPN. “He’s a kid, man. He actually sent me a great message [Friday]. Which is really funny, I looked at it [the message] and it was like, ‘This is when you know it’s about time to hang these things up, when your teammate writes you, Hi, Mr. Bryant.'”
“I was like, ‘What the f—?’ But it was really nice and apologetic about what had happened. I said, ‘Dude, listen. We’ve all said things and done things that we regret and wish we could take back. It’s water under the bridge, man. Welcome to the team.’ He writes back, ‘Thank you, sir.’ ”
Nance Jr., 22, starred at the University of Wyoming and was also drafted by the Harlem Globetrotters
“I’ve spoken to Larry Nance Jr., and I’m not in a position to really share information, but it is something that (Nance and Bryant) will have to discuss amongst the two of them,”Kupchak told the Los Angeles Times. “My understanding, it’s something that happened years ago, and in today’s world, things don’t go away, which doesn’t make it any less offensive because it was said three or four years ago.”
Nance Jr. averaged 16.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, 2.5 assists and 1.2 steals in 31 games last season season for the Cowboys.
The Lakers had three picks Thursday, including No. 2 overall selection D’Angelo Russell, out of Ohio State, and Stanford’s Anthony Brown, who was selected No. 34 overall in the second round.
