Amateur video shows Kobe in different light
LOS ANGELES: A amateur video of Kobe Bryant badmouthing the Los Angeles Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak and teammate Andrew Bynum is being made available to internet users on a pay-per-view basis.
The 24-second profanity-laced clip is attracting widespread interest say its creators who are remaining anonymous and won't release it for viewing until they say they have pre-sold 50,000 copies online, the Los Angeles Daily News reported on Tuesday.
John Black, Lakers spokesman, said on Tuesday that the makers of the video tried unsuccessfully to sell it to the NBA team.
"We are aware of the video and they contacted us a month ago and we told them we had no interest in buying it, Black said.
The amateur videographers say they were also offered $100,000 for the rights by a Laker fan who wanted to prevent it from being shown to the public.
They decided instead to make it available for purchase on a website at a cost of $1.99.
The video, in which Bryant is wearing sunglasses and a red shirt, was apparently shot by a "group of friends" in the parking lot of a shopping center in Newport Beach where Bryant lives.
They said they do not believe Bryant was aware he was being filmed at the time.
The two-time NBA scoring champion has become increasingly upset over the direction of the Lakers.
Bryant said told American newspapers earlier this month that he is fed up with empty promises from Lakers' management and now it is time to move on via the trade route.
Bryant, who joined the Lakers in 1996, has four years left on his contract which also includes a no trade clause which he would have to waive.
The video is supposed to be available for viewing sometime in the next week.
AFP
(China Daily 06/21/2007 page19)
