Disappointed with his son's marriage almost two years ago, Joe Bryant is no longer part of Kobe's life, but Laker star hopes that changes...
"My mom asked me to leave him a ticket, so of course I did," Kobe said, his voice dropping. "But I knew he wouldn't come down and see me. He never does." He didn't wave or call out. He didn't visit the locker room. He didn't speak to the son from whom he has been quietly estranged for nearly two years.
While declining to offer details of a rift made public by his father, Kobe quietly confirmed this week that Joe is uncomfortable that
Vanessa, a Latina, is not African American, and he is uneasy with Bryant's selfless devotion to her.
Said Kobe: "Sure, I miss my father. Who wouldn't miss his father?"
Said Joe: "Once he decided to get married, it's his life now."
His parents did not come to Kobe and Vanessa's wedding two summers ago. Joe has not seen the couple's new house in Orange County. Joe has never met the couple's first child, his granddaughter Natalia, who was born in January. When Kobe's Philadelphia-area high school retired his number last season, his parents sat in one section of the bleachers, while Vanessa sat in another section.
"It's not about basketball," Kobe said. "It's about having somebody to go to a ballgame with. It's about having somebody to hang out with. That's what I miss. Sure I hope we can get back together," Kobe said at the Laker practice facility Friday. "When the time is right, if he wants to come and sit down and discuss things, we can do that."