Lisa Leslie sat down with Gayle King to remember her close friend, Kobe Bryant. She assured that his legacy is “not complicated” to her because of his 2003 rape allegations.
The WNBA legend said the media media “should be more respectful” and not resurface the case in wake of his fatal helicopter crash on January 26th.
“It’s like if you had questions about it, you had many years to ask him that,” Leslie said Tuesday on “CBS This Morning.” “I don’t think it’s something that we should keep hanging over his legacy.”
Bryant was charged with sexual assault after a 19-year-old woman accused him of rape. The charges were eventually dropped because the accuser refused to testify. They later reached a settlement outside of court and Kobe issued a public apology to the woman.
“Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not,” he said. Leslie made it clear that this controversy doesn’t change how she feels about her beloved friend.
“That’s just not the person that I know,” Leslie told the morning show. She knew Kobe Bryant since he was 18-years-old and says he wasn’t the “kind of person that would do something to violate a woman or be aggressive in that way.”
“Even if there’s a few times that we’ve been at a club at the same time, Kobe’s not the kind of guy, never been, like, ‘Lis, go get that girl, or tell her, or send her this,’” Leslie said. “I have other NBA friends that are like that. Kobe, he was never like that.”
Many people applauded Leslie for riding for her friend. Lil Duval accused Gayle of having a “personal agenda.”
Salute to Lisa Leslie for not letting Gayle suck her into her personal agenda
— lil duval (@lilduval) February 5, 2020
https://twitter.com/ShowofTheColton/status/1225128436882116609
I'm HIGHLY upset about that bullshit Gayle tried to pull. Bitch had all these years to ask those questions but wanna wait til after he's died.
Then she had the nerve to ask Lisa Leslie was talking about it after he's gone a bad thing or is that apart of his legacy. Bitch what? pic.twitter.com/KmRrzqNuKm
— Irate Professional 👓 (@JetLifeLidz__) February 5, 2020
Yo it’s time to get Oprah and gayle the fuck outta here, like seriously…. and much love to Lisa Leslie for shutting that shit down
— The Architect (@FreddyBricks) February 5, 2020
Oprah & Gayle are both promoting the Kobe, Michael Jackson, & Russell Simmons allegations, but can’t seem seem to remember the guy who is currently standing trial.
Show me video of Oprah or Gayle badgering one of Harvey Weinstein’s acquaintances the way Gayle did Lisa Leslie? pic.twitter.com/mRA9lfPE8R
— PrometheusRisesForever (@prometheus50K) February 5, 2020
Yooo Gayle and Oprah need to go some where with that BS lost all respect for them and Kudos to Lisa Leslie for handling it like she did
— Black Ghost ♊ (@theinfinitypoet) February 5, 2020
Bruh I'm not surprised at all with that Gayle interview, she is Oprah's bestie after all. Shoutout to Lisa Leslie, she hit the nail right on the head at the end of that clip.
— Javy Birdman Atty @ Law (@Aint_IT_Jay) February 5, 2020
The way Gayle King was trying to do Lisa Leslie in that interview… pic.twitter.com/GGqStDKUU0
— NatoyaEbony (@NatoyaEbony) February 5, 2020
https://twitter.com/DreaAloha/status/1225117183912574981
Kobe Bryant died with eight other passengers on the helicopter, including his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna. There have been countless tributes to the late legend and his Mambacita all over the world.
Check out this mural that was painted right across the street from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
