Vanessa Bryant, Kobe Bryant’s widow, claims Nike released a pair of sneakers known as the “Mambacitas” to honor her daughter Gianna without her consent. The design, which Vanessa helped create, was made before the Bryant estate chose not to renew its contract with the sneaker titan.
What We Know:
- Vanessa called out Nike via an Instagram post; In a written statement posted online, she writes that she never approved of the manufacturing or selling of the Mambacitas because of the expired partnership. Alongside her report, she provides a picture of a fan holding up the sneaker.
View this post on Instagram - Vanessa also added photos of Milwaukee Bucks player Khris Middleton wearing the shoes on her story. After this, she uploaded a screenshot of a Bleacher Report tweet that says the sneakers would come out “later this year.”
An on-feet look at the Nike Kobe 6 Protro “Mamba Forever” releasing later this year 🙏 pic.twitter.com/4vlIH1xnca
— B/R Kicks (@brkicks) June 2, 2021
- One of Vanessa’s followers, whose picture she used in her post, told her he would be “happy” to offer an explanation of how he got the shoes and offered to send the pair to her.
- In addition, others in possession of the Mambacitas declared they obtained them from UK retailer Footpatrol. CNN reported that they acquired a screenshot of an email sent by the company in which they apologized for shipping out incorrect items. However, CNN still has not verified the email.
- The Mambacitas are already very popular in resale markets. Sneaker marketplace StockX sold a pair via resellers for $3000. A Depop user listed their pair on the website for £10,000 (about $14,200). A person offering the shoes on eBay asserts they come with a receipt from Footpatrol London.
- Shawn Grain Carter, a professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology, told CBS News that if the contract between Nike and the Bryant estate permits the sale of the Mambacitas, the publicity leak “might simply be construed as in poor taste, but not illegal.”
Carter states that revelations like these drive up demand, and because of this, Nike might not stop selling the sneakers. He also said that despite Kobe and Gianna’s tragic death, moguls must continue to elevate interest in their products somehow. Nike still has not released a response to Vanessa’s allegations.
