Kobe Bryant gets roasted, defends himself over Instagram post about youth basketball team

Jordan Greer

•
Kobe Bryant gets roasted, defends himself over Instagram post about youth basketball team image

There is "sports parent" competitive, and then there is "sports parent who is also Kobe Bryant" competitive.

Bryant, who retired from the NBA in 2016, has remained attached to the game as a youth coach. He clearly passed down his "Mamba Mentality" to the girls on his roster, as his team recently defeated an opponent by 88 points. You know, just a super chill 115-27 victory.

MORE: Kobe Bryant clarifies recent Shaquille O'Neal comments

That's why Bryant's Instagram post on Wednesday afternoon was both ridiculous and unsurprising. He shared an old photo of his team accepting fourth-place trophies with the type of childlike excitement typically reserved for a trip to the dentist. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Here’s our fourth place “winners” picture lol six of the kids in the picture stayed with me and worked every single day to get better and continue to work to this day. The 7th player (not in pic) missed this game for a dance recital so that should tell you where her focus was at this time, meaning she enjoyed dance more than ball which is fine. Now? She eats sleeps and breaths the game. So from this original group of 7 we have added a player TWO years YOUNGER (6th grade now), a player who’s team in our area folded and a player who’s family moved here from Tennessee. The beauty of coaching is growing the players from the ground up. That journey continues #mambas #2yearsago

A post shared by Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) on

Unfortunately for Bryant, screenshots live forever. Here is the original post:

Here’s our fourth place "winners" picture lol six of the kids in the picture stayed with me and worked every single day to get better and continue to work to this day. The 7th player (not in pic) missed this game for a dance recital so that should tell you where her focus was at this time. From the original 7 we have added a player TWO years YOUNGER (6th grade now), a player who’s team in our area folded and a player who’s family moved here from Tennessee. The beauty of coaching is growing the players from the ground up. That journey continues #Mambas

And the current version with a few adjustments:

Here’s our fourth place "winners" picture lol six of the kids in the picture stayed with me and worked every single day to get better and continue to work to this day. The 7th player (not in pic) missed this game for a dance recital so that should tell you where her focus was at this time, meaning she enjoyed dance more than ball which is fine. Now? She eats sleeps and breaths the game. So from this original group of 7 we have added a player TWO years YOUNGER (6th grade now), a player who’s team in our area folded and a player who’s family moved here from Tennessee. The beauty of coaching is growing the players from the ground up. That journey continues #mambas #2yearsago​

The first caption sounds like he's trying to shame a young girl for choosing a dance recital over basketball, which is a totally normal thing to say as an adult. The Twitterverse caught Bryant before he could make any tweaks.

Realizing how his message came off, Bryant made the above changes on Instagram and attempted to explain himself on Twitter.

Can't wait to see Kobe share an important lesson from Homer Simpson following the next game!

Jordan Greer

Jordan Greer Photo

Jordan Greer has been with The Sporting News since 2015. He previously worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He is a graduate of Westminster College and Syracuse University.