Kobe Bryant will forever be remembered for his impact on the game of basketball, but for some who knew him before the fame, he is a confidante who turned into a foe.
A blistering “Blood On The Razor Wire TV” interview with the retired Los Angeles Lakers childhood friend, Kevin “Sandman” Sanchez, has many of the NBA great’s fans coming to his defense.
In Sanchez’s scathing recollection of befriending Kobe through basketball while attending Lower Merion High School in Philadelphia, he alleged that the fond persona that the late, larger-than-life athlete is best known for is nothing like the man he came to know.
“To me, he’s not a good person,” the Philly native told host Chad Marks. Despite noting that his former friend was not arrogant during adolescence, he added that as Kobe became more of a star, his ego grew inflated, and “that’s when he became a piece of crap. He wasn’t like that when he was young.”
Moreover, the rapper also had a hand in helping the superstar during his short-lived foray at launching a hip-hop career.
He said, “As far as us, that was his original friends … he s—ted on all of us at the end of it. To keep it real, he s—ted on every single one of us. He made new friends when he went out there (to California), and he cut everybody off, including his family members.”
Kobe Bryant's former best friend, Kevin Sanchez, calls Kobe Bryant a "piece of sh*t" and goes off on Kobe Bryant for not helping him financially after he was released from prison.
— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) April 29, 2024
Also, Kevin Sanchez expresses his disdain for Kobe Bryant for not coming to court to testify on his… pic.twitter.com/FzQinZozzP
Sanchez pinpoints that when he was “falsely accused” and subsequently indicted and convicted of committing a robbery in 1996 in which the newly drafted ballplayer could have helped him beat the case. Kobe and several others were reportedly with Sanchez playing basketball at the gym when the crime occurred miles away at a 7-Eleven.
“He was a witness to keep men out of jail, like he didn’t testify, and you know, I understand why he didn’t…he was on his way to the NBA,” said the jilted ex-friend. He then pointed a finger of blame at Pam Bryant, Kobe’s mother.
“He tried to bail me out. … But his mom didn’t allow him to bail me out. … He did hire me some lawyers, but the thing about it was the lawyers made up a game plan along with Kobe’s advisers for Kobe to never show (up in court). … It was fully ’cause of his image, but it wasn’t from his dad’s point of view; his dad was with him testifying. His mom wasn’t.”
Sanchez continued, “This is when I really found out he was a pice of s—t and made me be like, you know what, f—k him,” rehashing that once released from prison, he waited in the rain outside of the Lakers practice facility in Philly. He hoped to make an appeal for the NBA All-Star to help him get on his feet.
“All I want to do is go back with you, you get me out there in L.A. somewhere, put me with somebody where I can make my own money. You just get me in, and I’m working for somebody on something, a business, anything to benefit myself. I don’t want nothing free, I don’t want to do nothing but work for it,” he reportedly told Kobe. What he received in return was a number for Kobe’s assistant. The two men never connected again.
Kobe Bryant's former best friend, Kevin Sanchez, speaks about Vanessa Bryant and explains why Kobe Bryant fell out with his own parents.
— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) April 30, 2024
(🎥 BLOOD ON THE RAZOR WIRE TV/YouTube) pic.twitter.com/Vv6dXXXtPy
“Bro get a job. Another grown man not responsible for you,” quipped someone as clips of the interview were circulated.
Another social media user wrote, “It’s the sense of entitlement for me. let that hurt go and get a job!” While a third said, “He obviously didn’t say all of this out loud when Kobe was alive, plus why did this grown man expect another grown man to take care of him next!”
Kobe, along with his and wife Vanessa Bryant’s daughter Gianna, and seven others, were killed in a helicopter accident in January 2020. He retired from the league in April 2016 after a 20-year career. Elsewhere in the interview, Sanchez blamed Vanessa for the fallout between the Olympian and his parents, who have been embroiled in controversy for selling off the athlete’s memorabilia.
