Kobe speak with forked tongue (monumental dink as usual)

[butterbeanlove]

Mr. Patriotic Kobe Bryant explains/rationalizes why winning the Olympics is more important than winning the NBA Title (or why he's totally gotten over getting stomped by the Celtics):

“So what,” he sniffed. “So what. If they can’t understand that, they don’t know what they’re talking about. It’s that simple. You’re playing for your country. There’s nobody in L.A. that wants to win more than me. If they want to take that as disrespectful, that’s silly. Everybody knows in L.A. that I’m the most competitive person – ever. Nobody wants to win a championship for the Lakers more than I do. Nobody. But playing for your country is something entirely different.”

BUT... Mr. Global Mercenary suddenly not so loyal to the U.S. of A after all if it means a few extra pesos:

BEIJING – Kobe Bryant won’t sign a contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers until he has tested the global market, the U.S. Olympic basketball star told Yahoo! Sports on Saturday.

Asked whether he plans to solicit overseas offers before signing an extension, Bryant flatly said yes.

“As players, the business of the game (is) evolving,” Bryant said before a Team USA practice at Beijing Normal University. “I think free agency now is becoming a global thing …. When players become free agents, the team they’re currently with – their competition is no longer the rest of the teams in the NBA. But it’s global. So, the market’s opened up. So we’ll just have to see how the league responds to it.”

I'd have to take a 30-minute shower if I learned I was in the same area code as that tapeworm.

[BUTerrier]

You can criticize Kobe for many things -- and there are many -- but I think calling him "unpatriotic" is stretching it. I don't see anyone calling out American soccer players for playing overseas instead of in MLS. Most of the WNBA players play for teams in Russia and Spain and other countries during the off-season; is that unpatriotic?

Honestly, as long as he's not playing for someone else in the Olympics, I'm not sure where he makes his money in between Olympics renders him "patriotic" or "unpatriotic"

[billysan]

I would love to see this clown sign a contract with a Euro team. Good riddance, sorry no such luck for us I am afraid. He is an idiot, he will be forgotten and no one will see him on TV here. His ego wont be able to take that. Besides, he still cant win without Shaq can he?

[kw10]

I would love to see this clown sign a contract with a Euro team. Good riddance, sorry no such luck for us I am afraid. He is an idiot, he will be forgotten and no one will see him on TV here. His ego wont be able to take that. Besides, he still cant win without Shaq can he?

Maybe he's trying to go to Europe so he can play with baby Shaq of Greece (sorry I forgot his real name) and win...and he can tell Shaq he's won it without him and telll him SHaq can't win without him...oh wait, Shaq did win without Kobe already
But Kobe leaving the NBA and the spotlights of basketball would make me as happy as I was when KG came here to beantown.

[butterbeanlove]

You can criticize Kobe for many things -- and there are many -- but I think calling him "unpatriotic" is stretching it. I don't see anyone calling out American soccer players for playing overseas instead of in MLS. Most of the WNBA players play for teams in Russia and Spain and other countries during the off-season; is that unpatriotic?

Honestly, as long as he's not playing for someone else in the Olympics, I'm not sure where he makes his money in between Olympics renders him "patriotic" or "unpatriotic"

I wasn't calling him unpatriotic, I was calling him a GD inconsistent hypocrite.

He's all about TEAM USA when he's trying to justify Team USA being more important than the NBA Finals and wave his little stars and stripes.

But he's ready to kick the U.S. to the curb and spout the globalism line when he can make a few extra bucks overseas (or use it to leverage it for more shekels here). Can't have it both ways, Mmaba.

[soap07]

How is Kobe being hypocritical in the slightest?

[butterbeanlove]

How is Kobe being hypocritical in the slightest?

Ummm... by appearing on network TV smooching his wife and kids after skating a rape charge in Colorado, for starters, and about every other sentence he's uttered in his life.

[ThreadCrasher]

You can criticize Kobe for many things -- and there are many -- but I think calling him "unpatriotic" is stretching it. I don't see anyone calling out American soccer players for playing overseas instead of in MLS. Most of the WNBA players play for teams in Russia and Spain and other countries during the off-season; is that unpatriotic?

Honestly, as long as he's not playing for someone else in the Olympics, I'm not sure where he makes his money in between Olympics renders him "patriotic" or "unpatriotic"

I wasn't calling him unpatriotic, I was calling him a GD inconsistent hypocrite.

He's all about TEAM USA when he's trying to justify Team USA being more important than the NBA Finals and wave his little stars and stripes.

But he's ready to kick the U.S. to the curb and spout the globalism line when he can make a few extra bucks overseas (or use it to leverage it for more shekels here). Can't have it both ways, Mmaba.

I worked in Europe for two years.  I tell people I love the US the best, but decided to work elsewhere, for a period of time.  I am neither unpatriotic or hypocritical.

[Amonkey]

I wasn't calling him unpatriotic, I was calling him a GD inconsistent hypocrite.

He's all about TEAM USA when he's trying to justify Team USA being more important than the NBA Finals and wave his little stars and stripes.

But he's ready to kick the U.S. to the curb and spout the globalism line when he can make a few extra bucks overseas (or use it to leverage it for more shekels here). Can't have it both ways, Mmaba.

I really dont understand the hypocritical part.  I think that actually makes him more consistent.  The NBA is not Team USA, so when he says that it's more important to play for team USA than the NBA, and have the option to play in Europe when the contract is up, then he's being consistent that he would rather win for Team USA than a NBA team.

[incoherent]

Nothing in the original post that makes Kobe sound bad at all...


Your going way way out of your way here.

[FallGuy]

You can criticize Kobe for many things -- and there are many -- but I think calling him "unpatriotic" is stretching it. I don't see anyone calling out American soccer players for playing overseas instead of in MLS. Most of the WNBA players play for teams in Russia and Spain and other countries during the off-season; is that unpatriotic?

Honestly, as long as he's not playing for someone else in the Olympics, I'm not sure where he makes his money in between Olympics renders him "patriotic" or "unpatriotic"

I wasn't calling him unpatriotic, I was calling him a GD inconsistent hypocrite.

He's all about TEAM USA when he's trying to justify Team USA being more important than the NBA Finals and wave his little stars and stripes.

But he's ready to kick the U.S. to the curb and spout the globalism line when he can make a few extra bucks overseas (or use it to leverage it for more shekels here). Can't have it both ways, Mmaba.

I worked in Europe for two years.  I tell people I love the US the best, but decided to work elsewhere, for a period of time.  I am neither unpatriotic or hypocritical.

Totally true. I can't fathom why anyone would think otherwise.

[nickagneta]

I understand Kobe hate runs deep, but attempting to twist anything he said in this article as being bad is as convoluted as Laker and national people twisting Pierce's innocuous comments about being the best player into the pile of rubbish that they did.

He said nothing wrong and neither did Pierce.

Let's stop putting everything these guys say under a microscope and stop trying to read between lines that don't exist.

[Robb]

You can criticize Kobe for many things -- and there are many -- but I think calling him "unpatriotic" is stretching it. I don't see anyone calling out American soccer players for playing overseas instead of in MLS. Most of the WNBA players play for teams in Russia and Spain and other countries during the off-season; is that unpatriotic?

Honestly, as long as he's not playing for someone else in the Olympics, I'm not sure where he makes his money in between Olympics renders him "patriotic" or "unpatriotic"

I wasn't calling him unpatriotic, I was calling him a GD inconsistent hypocrite.

He's all about TEAM USA when he's trying to justify Team USA being more important than the NBA Finals and wave his little stars and stripes.

But he's ready to kick the U.S. to the curb and spout the globalism line when he can make a few extra bucks overseas (or use it to leverage it for more shekels here). Can't have it both ways, Mmaba.

I think BUTerrier has the right of it, although, I am a fan of bashing Kobe at every opportunity, so I enjoy and agree with both posts

I think if you're saying that since Kobe plays for team America then he should stay in America for his work, that's not taking into account a lot of factors namely how much money he could make overseas.  If I could make twice as much money by moving across the pond, I would.  As a matter of fact:  I did.*

*To be honest, I'm not making twice as much money as I could make in America, but I am working MUCH less and making much more than I would in the states.  The comfortable nature of my life can only be matched by a few people that I know.

Kobe is an international child.  He's got a Japanese name and speaks Italian.  He has stated that if his family had never moved back to the U.S., he'd be playing soccer instead of basketball.  If anyone could make it adjusting to the lifestyle and culture, it'd be Kobe.

Plus, the idea that since he's American he should work in America is a slippery slope in one of the worst ways:  That Americans should only concern themselves with American things and ignore everyone and everything else.  Why should we import food and goods?  American food is all we need.  Why should we travel to other countries?  America has anything you'd want from your vacation.  Why should we read books by foreign authors or watch movies made from international actors and directors?  We have our own books and our own movies, plus they're better.  Why should Malaysian children get to make Nike shoes for fifteen cents a day?  They're taking our jobs!

[Fastbreak]

One (Hana) TP for Robb...I spent 15 years outside our borders (7 yrs in Korea) and yes I am a patriot..We can all hate Kobe because he is a Laker and that is enough reason (the only one) for me....the rest of the orignal poster's rational is simply silly...

[Robb]

One (Hana) TP for Robb...I spent 15 years outside our borders (7 yrs in Korea) and yes I am a patriot..We can all hate Kobe because he is a Laker and that is enough reason (the only one) for me....the rest of the orignal poster's rational is simply silly...

~감사합니다~