Famous Iranian-American venture capitalist Shervin Pishevar makes the proverbial leap to Twitter after stating in a wire that the late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was about to leave Nike.
Pishevar said that in December 2019 he and his team Bryant presented a shoe concept and a company that would essentially be player property. He went on to say that there were witnesses on the field during the rally, including the manager of the Olympic track and field star Usain Bolt.
Here’s the request:
I met Kobe Bryant at the end of December 2019. Kobe wasn’t happy with Nike and wanted to leave him in 2020. Kobe wanted to start Mamba, a shoe company owned by the player. He died a few weeks later. What he would do in business would obscure his sports career.
– Shervin (@shervin) 29 December 2020
2/ These are the drawings my team made that day for the independent shoe company Mamba to show him. Here are the details of the calendar. There were witnesses to the meeting and Kobe plans like Gina Ford who ran Usain Bolt pic.twitter.com/PgsIDt0P0E.
– Shervin (@shervin) 29 December 2020
But many of the Twittersphere understand that Kobe Bryant was about to sign a new trade agreement, including Darren Rovell of the Action Network.
Rovell has stated that Kobe is willing to explore all options beyond Nike’s approval. However, Mr. Rovell also pointed out that the idea of the shoe did not really belong to him and that he simply used a local meeting to assess the possibilities:
Can we get rid of it? Kobe, like all athletes, was willing to do research at the end of the deal. He’s called a fucking meeting. The shoe wasn’t his idea. That’s all I’m saying. I don’t want it to look like it’s far from the project. That’s not it. https://t.co/E0ImF4CWWl
– Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) 29 December 2020
Other users have questioned Mr Pishevar’s motives to share the story in the first place and to distort the details. Some have questioned his integrity:
I like you, and I think of you. But he’s an ugly one, a little too much. There’s nothing of value here.
– Heidi Brown (@heidibraun) 29 December 2020
I hope you got Vanessa Bryant’s permission to post this. Otherwise, long after he’s dead. You use it to promote your travel company. And it’s disgusting.
– Teddy Hawley (@teddyhawley) 29 December 2020
Some have claimed that Pishevar ridiculously insinuated that he knew Kobe Bryant’s motives and plans for the future:
The fact is, it never really happened, so you can’t say it was a way to make more money. Maybe he had plans to give back to his community and carry out social plans to help others with the money he was earning. Why the sudden negativity?
– Ed (@EdouardPerrier) 29 December 2020
Fascinating. Steve Jobs was considering setting up another company specialising in cannabis, called Bananas. @Apple @highergtv pic.twitter.com/7yPbtYUD02
– Michael A. Stusser (@MichaelStusser) 29 December 2020
Moreover, I think the meeting did not take place with real intentions, despite the subsequent tweets from Pishevar :
#FakeNews. That’s not what happened.
– John Wanz | 约翰 希望 (@wantzht) December 29, 2020
Sounds like a conspiracy theory.
– David Anderson (@hikethisway) 29 December 2020
On the one hand, it is not surprising to hear that Bryant, as well-balanced as ever, has started commercial enterprises that give power to the players.
At the same time, the timing of Pishevar’s tweets is pretty weird, and it’s a bit pointless for him to pretend to have a direct line to Kobe’s thoughts. As Darren Rovell pointed out, the meeting appears to be nothing more than a speculative event. That’s not really an indication that Kobe Bryant was really ready to leave Nike.
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