Lakers' Bryant Would Apologize to Shaq

[Louis Cypher]

By Associated Press

December 16, 2004, 3:44 AM EST


LOS ANGELES -- Lakers star Kobe Bryant wants to apologize to former teammate Shaquille O'Neal for mentioning his name during a police interview last year.

Bryant appeared on ESPN's "Pardon The Interruption" and "NBA Shootaround" on Wednesday and said he never meant to bring up O'Neal's name when he was being interrogated by police officers. The interview came after a woman accused Bryant of raping her.

"I would apologize for any harm that I brought him and his family," Bryant said of O'Neal.

The Heat will play the Lakers on Christmas Day, the first meeting of the two teams since O'Neal was traded. Bryant wants to speak to O'Neal then.

Bryant was accused of sexually assaulting the woman at a Colorado resort where she worked in June 2003. The Lakers star maintained they had consensual sex.

Prosecutors dropped a sexual assault charge against Bryant on Sept. 1 after the woman said she no longer wanted to participate in the criminal case. She had filed a civil suit against Bryant about three weeks earlier.

During Bryant's interview with investigators, he said he heard O'Neal had paid up to $1 million to various women to keep quiet about situations like his own. O'Neal, who now plays for the Miami Heat, dismissed those allegations as "ridiculous." There have been no published reports of O'Neal ever being accused of any sex crimes.

The former Lakers center was informed of Bryant's allegation last September, and the relationship between the two was strained throughout the 2003-04 season. After the season, O'Neal demanded to be traded.

"I never intended in any way to mix him into my troubles and difficulties that were going on at the time," Bryant said Wednesday. "Things kind of got blown out of proportion and people really ran with that stuff. I just apologize to him for that."

Bryant said he has passed the word to O'Neal through a mutual friend that he would like to discuss the matter.

"December 25 sounds like a good day to me to kind of talk to him and tell him I never meant in any kind of way to bring any of his personal business out," Bryant said.

Bryant also answered questions Wednesday about the recent spat with another former teammate, Karl Malone. Bryant has accused Malone, who is recovering from knee surgery, of making a pass at his wife at a game last month.

Malone's agent said last week that his client didn't plan to return to the Lakers because of comments Bryant made in a radio interview questioning Malone's intent in rejoining the team.

"To me it's water under the bridge," Bryant said Wednesday. "I just kind of want to move on from it. We just go our separate ways."

I think Kobe is a fantastic hoops star.
I also believe he is still a young kid adjusting to a mans world.
He'll be fine.

Everything is just magnified so much by the media.
I don't remember smooth sailing for too many 20+ year olds when I was growing up.

[Pancho Sanza]

So he isn't saying it's not true, he's just sorry it got out. That should help clear things.

I'm sure Shaq will be glad to shake his hand, not!.

[chris@thegreek]

Kobe is a jerk, 95% of NBA players hate him

Look he even had his parents hating him


Problem with Kobe is he resents LeBron


why on the day of the NBA draft LeBron's coming out party, Kobehas his puppett Jim Gray say he will seek to be a free agent after seaons end


Go ask Kobe how much endorsement $$ he lost and how much LeBron is making


Thing is LeBron is already a better player than Kobe, Kobe may have the rings - only won because of Shaq

but Kobe can't do 1/2 the things LeBron can do on the court


His interview was a joke, Shaq and Karl should smack him in the head

[JoeyrollNy]

I'm wondering what kind of present Shaq will have waiting on Christmas day for Kobe.

Sportman, I disagree. Kobe is no longer a kid. He's had plenty of time to mature, and he's failed the test. He's just a self-centered jerk. If he was really a team player, he wouldn't have alienated Phil Jackson and Shaq, and the Lakers would still be perennial title-contenders.

[KidVegas]

Kobe will go up and hug Shaq on Christmas Day right before tip-off. I hope Shaq decks him when he tries to hug him. Kobe is such a phony. Says he had nothing to do with Shaq and Jackson leaving.

Originally posted by: reno
Sportman, I disagree. Kobe is no longer a kid. He's had plenty of time to mature, and he's failed the test. He's just a self-centered jerk. If he was really a team player, he wouldn't have alienated Phil Jackson and Shaq, and the Lakers would still be perennial title-contenders.

Mr Buss wouldn't have kept these misfits together

[Louis Cypher]

Buss mentioned in an article (LA MAGAZINE) that the mail he recieved was a 3-1 in favor of keeping Kobe and that's why he signed Kobe. Wanted to keep the fans happy. I'm still a fan of the Lakers but might be jumping off the ship due to his assholeness (Kobe)...that guy is so in love with himself.

Reading Phil Jackson's book, it was all about Kobe where as Shaq comes off as a pretty decent human being. Perhaps some of his book was fabricated to make Kobe look like an ass but after reading and hearing his constant bullshit about other people has me believing Phil and Shaq.

I do find it funny that this guy defends his so-called wife, a wife I might add that he could've cared less for while he was slipping the baloney pony to his chick in Colorado. Now he comes off like a husband who'll do everything for his wife. WHAT A DICK!!!

P.S. I DEFENDED KOBE LAST YEAR SO THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE ALLEGED RAPE CASE...IT'S ALL ABOUT THIS IDIOT THINKING HE'S GREAT ENOUGH TO LEAD THIS TEAM TO A WORLDS CHAMPIONSHIP W/O SHAQ AND IT WON'T BE HAPPENING ANYTIME SOON!


LC

[So Cal Baseball]

Kobe's ridiculous. Immature and he no longer is a kid. If I could have made childlike mistakes when I was that age I would be running for president right now. He's already admitted to being a rapist and he's obviously a habitual liar to boot.

Jerry Buss is the only person in Lakerland that is any stupider. Throw Mitch Kupchak into the mix and you come up with a trifecta of stupidity that could find a way of finishing out of the money in a Special Olympics 6-years-old and under girls' 40 yard dash preliminary heat.

Jerry West is the only reason there are 9 LA championship banners hanging at the Staples Center. Sure Magic and some other helped out, but they wouldn't have been here without him.

Shaq is the man and if he were still here the Lakers would be right in the thick of things.

[chris@thegreek]

As a Heat fan I thank the Lakers for trading Shaq to us